SAO3 -on hold-
by SuperBakugo
Summary: Follow Kirito, Asuna, and their friends as they embark on countless adventures with new friends and maybe some old enemies- on hold- SAO3 will keep going, but right now i'm finishing up school and trying to get back on writing, safe wishes everyone stay safe in these times. i will post new chapters in May. sometime after the 15th
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Demon with a sword

[Hello everyone, for some of you this might be the first story you read by me, and others might have come from my MHA fanfic, and I will be continuing that I just wanted to start this. Now this fanfic takes place after the episode where in ALO Kirito and the others complete a quest and get Excalibur. This story takes place about 2 weeks after the new year and everyone is back to work and school. Now some story stuff might edit the events of SAO but not by too much. Enough talk, Link Start! Sorry had to.]

Kirito was sitting in his classroom like always when his teacher walked in. "Hello class, today we have a new student come in and introduce yourself." The teacher said. A boy walked in. He was tall, he looked fit, he had crazy, spiky, and untamed black hair with one spike of his hair in the front being orange, his eyes were dull red.

"What do I say?" He asked. His voice was dull lifeless.

"Your name and a little about yourself." The teacher replied.

"My name is Eric Agnam, I am from America. I am a SAO survivor, And that's all that's important." Eric said. "Wait there is one more thing, in the game people called me demon with a sword." Eric said, he then nodded at the teacher.

'Wait a Sao survivor? That name…. Demon with a sword… wait! I met him in game!' Kirito shouted in his mind.

"Eric please take the seat to the right of Kirigaya Kazuto." The teacher said as she pointed to the chair. Eric sat down. Kirito looked at Eric.

"Need something?" Eric asked Kirito in a whisper without even looking at him.

"Eric… EricRising" Kirito whispered.

"So you remember me… Kirito the black swordsman." Eric whispered back. Kirito and Eric stopped talking and paid attention to class. After class.

"Ok class, since today is Friday we have the rest of the day off, goodbye all." The teacher said as she left. Eric got up and was first out the door. Kirito quickly gathered his stuff and ran off to try and find Eric.

"Dang it! Where'd he go?" Kirito asked himself as he looked around in the front of school. Kirito heard people talking and fighting in a nearby alleyway. Kirito ran to it and looked down it. Eric was dodging attacks by three older kids.

"Come on… you guys were fun to fight in the game, but it seems your weak in the real world." Eric said as he dodged more attacks. "laughing coffin is weak." Eric said as he punched one of the kids and sent him to the ground. The other two grabbed their friend and ran off.

"Eric!" Kirito yelled. Eric turned to face Kirito. Eric's voice was more alive, so was his eyes.

"Hello." Eric said walking towards him.

"They were laughing coffin?" Kirito asked as Eric stepped into the light of the street.

"Yup. They wanted to kill me, I can't wait for their next try." Eric replied.

"I remember you." Kirito said.

"Of course we both did a few dungeons together." Eric said with a smile.

"Yeah… before you started killing other player killers. But I can't hate you for it." Kirito said.

"Tha-" Eric was cut off by a bullet shooting through his chest. Kirito looked and saw one of the laughing coffin kids with a gun running away. Kirito took out his phone. Eric grabbed the phone. "I'm fine, don't call the police or anything." Eric said as he slowly stood up.

"Your shot! You're not fine!" Kirito yelled as he helped Eric stay on his feet. Eric took off his shirt and he was wearing a bullet proof vest.

"See fine." Eric said as he removed the vest and put his shirt back on.

"Why were you wearing a vest?!" Kirito asked.

"Because it's laughing coffin, can't be to safe." Eric replied as he started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Kirito asked.

"To my new house to finish moving in." Eric replied.

"You need help? That still must hurt." Kirito offered.

'Well I mean it does hurt, and the sooner I finish the sooner I can get comfy.' Eric thought it over. "Alright, thanks." Eric said with a forced smile.

"give me your phone for a sec." Kirito said. Eric gave his phone to Kirito and after a minute Kirito gave Eric the phone back. "Text me the address and me and some friends will come help." Kirito said.

"I will." Eric said walking away, he checked his contacts and Kirito's number was in there. Eric got to his new house. "I'm glad I had enough money to buy my own house and not have to live in those annoying apartment complexes." Eric said. Eric texted Kirito the address. After about 15 minutes Kirito pulled up on his bike and a car pulled up behind him. Two dudes and a girl hopped out the car.

"Eric this is Klein, Agil, and Asuna." Kirito introduced them.

"Nice to meet ya'll. I'm Eric." Eric said with a slight head nod.

"Wait this is your house?" Kirito asked looking behind Eric.

"yes…" Eric answered.

"It's a big house, you live alone?" Klein asked.

"Yeah, the way I like it, I'm not a people person, the only time I normally talk to people is when I'm playing VRMMO's." Eric answered.

"You play alfheim?" Asuna asked.

"A little, not much of a fairy person, I prefer the new game I just started playing, Gun gale online." Eric replied. "Anyway I guess we can talk later or something but I wanna finish the house." Eric said.

"Right." Kirito said. Eric, Kirito, Klein, and Agil carried the heavy boxes while Asuna toted some small bags and boxes. After about two hours the whole house was furnished and livable.

"Well uh, thanks for everyone's help." Eric said.

"No problem, hey you should come play some ALO with us." Kirito said.

"Maybe later." Eric said.

"Well we have each other's numbers so, stay in touch." Kirito said as him and the others left. Eric sighed and sat on his bed.

"stay in touch? No one has ever wanted to stay in touch with me." Eric said aloud. "And I like it that way, after all I am the demon with a sword." Eric said as he fell asleep on his bed. Eric woke up Saturday morning. Eric put on his amusphere. "Link Start!" Eric yelled. Eric felt himself be loaded into the game. He opened his eyes. "GGO…" Eric said with a smirk as he got up and started walking. Somewhere in a random bar.

"Hey did you hear?" guy1 asked.

"No what?" guy2 asked.

"There is a huge reward for whoever kills this player called EricRising." guy1 said.

"Wow" guy2 said. Sinon overheard the talk.

"A huge reward? Must be a good player, but not good enough." Sinon said as she got up and left the bar to find her next target. After an hour Eric was sitting on a rock in a grassy plain area. Sinon was on the ground a few yards away looking with her scope. In GGO Eric's body was almost the same and his hair style was the same only it was all orange and his eyes were bright orange. "So that's EricRising. I hear he's like Kirito and uses a Photon Sword." Sinon said as she had her cross hairs on Eric's head.

'Hmmm… a sniper, been a while since someone tried sneaking up on me.' Eric thought in his head with a smile. Sinon steadied her heart beat and fired at his head. Eric shifted his head forward and the bullet missed him.

'What! How'd he dodge?! This close and without knowing my bullet line!' Sinon thought. Sinon reloaded and got ready for shot two.

"Hey Sniper, you missed your first shot, I can see your bullet lines now, just give up." Eric said as he got off the rock and activated his orange photon sword. Sinon fired. Eric saw the bullet line going towards his head. Eric bent down and dodged, he stood back up. Sinon put up her sniper and ran at him using her Glock 18C. She started shooting at him. Eric cut all the bullets in half. Eric saw Sinon running and shooting at him. "Wait your Sinon. The number one sniper." Eric said as he cut more bullets. Sinon stopped firing.

"Yeah, and all I really know is that your EricRising, photon sword user and you have quickly climbed the ranks since starting last week." Sinon said.

"You know enough, now I would love to keep fighting you but I am getting hungry in the real world so, see Ya!" Eric yelled as he logged out. Sinon picked up a handful of bullets.

'He cut them in half equally, all of them.' Sinon thought. Eric took off his amusphere and set it on his bedside table.

"It's only 9:43, I wonder if…" Eric said aloud as he looked at his phone. "No." Eric shook his head as he got up and started to walk off, but then he stopped. "What the heck." Eric said as he picked up his phone. Eric called Kirito.

"Hello?" Kirito said.

"… Hey, it's me Eric." Eric said.

"Oh Eric, good to hear from you." Kirito said.

"Yeah well… I was wondering if you haven't eat anything yet, would you like to come over and eat some breakfast?" Eric asked.

"… What would we eat?" Kirito asked.

'Wait he seems like he might want to…' Eric thought with a shocked face. "Oh uh, I could cook something if you had anything in mind." Eric said.

"Eggs and bacon?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, can you bring some bacon, I don't have any." Eric said.

"Be there in about 15 minutes." Kirito said.

"Ok, bye." Eric said as he hung up. "Well it seems like I'm making breakfast for more than me." Eric said as he went to the bathroom to take a shower. After about 10 minutes Eric heard his doorbell ring. "That was fast." Eric said as he finished setting up his TV. Eric opened the door and he saw Asuna.

"Asuna right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, Kirito invited me over, do you mind?" Asuna asked.

'So 2 guests, well I was the one to invite him so I knew I would have a guest.. or two.' Eric thought with a sigh. Eric did his best to smile. "Yeah, come on in, he should be here soon." Eric said as he opened the door wider. Asuna stepped in and Eric closed the door.

"I see you've made a few changes." Asuna said as she looked around.

"Yeah, just finished setting up my computers and TV." Eric said as he sat down on the couch. "You can watch something if you want." Eric said as he pointed to a shelf that had 3 rows of movies and a stack of movies on the ground beside it. Asuna looked and held one up. Eric got up and grabbed it and put in his Blu-ray player. "Oh you picked Hero from Heaven. Good movie." Eric said as he put the case down.

"Yup, been a while since I watched it. Asuna sat on Eric's couch and started watching the movie, the doorbell rang. Eric answered it and it was Kirito. He gave Eric the bacon and followed Eric into his kitchen.

"I see Asuna is enjoying your big TV." Kirito said. Eric started cracking some eggs. "Sorry, I just wanted to invite her." Kirito said.

"It's fine, I have enough for all three of us, I just am not… social. I don't know how to small talk and stuff like that." Eric said as he started frying things.

"Well I could help you, if you join me and my friends in doing stuff." Kirito said.

"I guess, I just have started trying to avoid friends and groups, but I guess this isn't SAO no more." Eric said as he gave Kirito a glass of OJ. Kirito started drinking it. "Asuna, water or OJ?" Eric asked.

"OJ." Asuna replied. Eric slide Kirito a second glass of OJ and Kirito took it to Asuna, and he came back. There was a slight whine from upstairs. Kirito looked up.

"Go upstairs and second door to the right, open it please." Eric said while still cooking food. Kirito went and opened the door and a dog shot out and ran downstairs.

"Whoa." Asuna said as the dog sat on the couch near the edge. Kirito got a look at the dog. Rottweiler mix breed.

"That's Cody." Eric said from the kitchen. Cody went into the back yard.

"Nice dog." Kirito said as he sat at the kitchen bar.

"Thanks." Eric said. "Food is done." Eric said as he handed Kirito two plates. Eric grabbed a circle pan with 3 cups of OJ on it and his plate and him and Kirito went into the living room. Kirito sat next to Asuna on the couch and Eric gave them each a cup. Eric sat down in a chair nearby and they all starting eating and drinking. After they all finished.

"That was good." Asuna said.

"Yeah, thanks Eric." Kirito said. Eric tried to hide a smile.

"I'm glad it was good." Eric said.

"Eric you should meet me and my friends for some fun later." Kirito said.

"I don't know." Eric said as he grabbed all the plates and cups.

"Come on." Kirito and Asuna said together. Eric sighed.

"Ok." Eric gave in.

"Yay" Kirito and Asuna said to each other in a whisper. Kirito and Asuna gave Eric the details and left shortly after.

"So I have about an hour before I have to meet them." Eric said as he got ready to dive. "Link start…" Eric said. Eric opened his eyes and he was in the spawn zone for GGO. Eric started walking away. Time Eric was outside of the safe zone he noticed it. A bullet started flying towards Eric, followed by a second then a third, all a few seconds apart. Eric activated his Photon sword. He sliced through 2/3 but the third one hit his left leg. "Dang." Eric said as he stepped back. He felt a sniper barrel pressed against the back of his head. "Hello again… Sinon." Eric said.

"How'd you know it was me?" Sinon asked.

"You're the only sniper good enough to hit me and sneak up on me like that." Eric answered. "You know I only have an hour of game time, so I would prefer to not die right now." Eric said.

"I only have an hour as well, but I'm not really the one having to worry about dying." Sinon said. Eric sighed, then he smiled. Eric stabbed his photon sword backwards, Sinon pulled the trigger. Eric exploded into triangles. Sinon's health dropped into the red. "That was close." Sinon said as she put up her sniper. Eric woke up and took off his amusphere.

"Well drat." Eric said as he got up. Eric checked his phone. "ok I have 45 minutes to get there and according to the map it will take me 30 minutes. Best leave now." Eric said as he locked up his house and walked to his fire bird, it was painted black with orange fire. Eric got in and cut his radio on. Eric took off towards the place that Kirito texted him. Eric pulled up in front of a sort of busy looking building. "Oh no." Eric said he looked at the place. "It's a freaking karaoke bar, I can't stand these, but I already told Kirito and Asuna that I would be here, so…" Eric locked his car and went inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Logging into ALO

[I'm back with chapter 2, hope ya'll enjoy. Link Start!]

Eric looked around the Karaoke bar. "It's…. cozy I guess." Eric said as he looked around.

"Yo!" Kirito yelled as Eric walked into the main room. It was dimly lit, had a huge stage with spotlights, tables and chairs, food and drink stands, and a dance floor. Eric walked over to Kirito.

"Hey…" Eric said.

"So what do you think of this place?" Kirito asked.

"It's not my type of place." Eric said with a sigh.

"Well none of my friends are here yet, wanna do a song or two before the others get here?" Kirito asked.

"Nope, nope, nope." Eric said shaking his head no.

"Come on, we can do a duo song." Kirito said.

"Nope, I don't sing." Eric said.

"You can pick the song." Kirito said.

"Well let me think, no!" Eric said.

"If you say so." Kirito said. Eric and Kirito walked to a group table. "The others will be here shortly." Kirito said.

"You said I could pick the song right?" Eric asked while looking at the stage.

"Yup, knew you would give in." Kirito responded.

"Witch doctor." Eric said. Kirito nodded and they went and stood in line for the karaoke stage.

"Ok so who's the main?" Kirito asked.

"Me, I don't do side work." Eric said.

"Got it." Kirito said.

"And this is it. Got it." Eric said.

"Loud and clear." Kirito said.

"Good." Eric said.

"So can you sing?" Kirito asked.

"So so, you?" Eric asked.

"Kinda." Kirito answered.

"Ok, next in line… Eric and Kirito." The bar keeper announced. Eric and Kirito walked onto the stage. Eric picked Witch doctor and they grabbed a microphone.

"Hey, witch doctor give us the magic words!" Eric started.

"All right, ooo, eee, ooo, ah ah ting tang  
Walla walla, bing bang" Kirito continued.

"Alright! Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang." Eric continued. At this point lots of people were on the dance floor. "Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo, eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang." Eric continued.

"I told the witch doctor I was in love with you I told the witch doctor I was in love with you And then the witch doctor He told me what to do He told me." Eric and Kirito continued.

"Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang Walla walla, bing bang" Eric sung. Eric and Kirito kept singing until the very end.

"Walla Walla Bing Bang!" Eric and Kirito yelled at the top of their lungs. Eric and Kirito were both sweating and breathing hard. Everyone was clapping. Kirito noticed that all of his friends were at the table clapping.

"They're here, let's go." Kirito said as he hopped off the stage.

"That's not how you get off the stage, watch this." Eric said as he ran towards the edge. Eric backflipped off the stage and started walking next to Kirito.

"You know, for starters we sing pretty good as a team, and for someone who is anti-social you are a show off." Kirito said with a laugh as he sat in the chair next to Asuna.

"Well I agree with you about singing, and I know, weird." Eric said as he sat next to Klein.

"Man, you guys were awesome!" Klein shouted.

"thanks." Eric said.

"Ya'll should do more." Asuna said.

"Nope, I was on stage enough, You guys should do some though." Eric said.

"Well I agree with Asuna." A smaller girl said.

"Oh Eric, that's Silica." Kirito said.

"Nice to meet you, name's Eric." Eric said.

"Nice to meet you too." Silica said.

"This is Lisbeth, And my sister Leafa, plus Sinon." Kirito said as he pointed to them.

"Nice to meet everyone." Eric said. "Wait! Did you say Sinon? The number one sniper in GGO?" Eric asked.

"Yes." Kirito said.

"You shot at me!" Eric yelled as he pointed at Sinon.

"I shot at lots of people." Sinon said.

"You tried to kill me about an hour ago." Eric said.

"EricRising?" Sinon asked.

"Yup." Eric said as he nodded his head.

"Kirito watch out, this guy is just as good as you with a photon sword." Sinon said.

"Really?" Asuna asked.

"He dodged and sliced my bullets." Sinon said.

"We should duel one day Eric." Kirito said.

"I'd love to! I never got my chance to fight you in SAO, so now I can fight to kill without worrying." Eric said.

"Agreed." Kirito said.

"Well I think I'm gonna hit the dance floor and try to find my soulmate." Klein said as he went to the dance floor. Kirito and Asuna went to go dance.

"Oh and IRL call us, Keiko." Silica said.

"Asada." Sinon said.

"Rika." Lisbeth said.

"Suguha." Leafa said.

"Ok." Eric said as he looked around the room.

"Looking for something?" Silica asked.

"Food." Eric said as he got up and walked to the food stand. 'Man, all of this looks so good.' Eric thought as he looked at all of it. Eric grabbed some steak and water. Eric sat back down. Eric started eating.

"So you play ALO?" Sinon asked. Eric swallowed his food.

"I have it, just haven't started it yet." Eric said before drinking some water.

"Well all of us like meeting at Kirito and Asuna's house and going on quests, you should come." Lisbeth said.

"I guess." Eric said as he finished eating.

"Y-You finished eating that fast?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah, I am the fastest eater in the west." Eric said with a smirk.

"Now you and Kirito should do a new song." Lisbeth said.

"Not again, and I'm not breaking this time." Eric said as he shook his head.

"We will see about that." Sinon said.

'Oh god.' Eric thought as Sinon, Leafa, Lisbeth, and Silica looked at him. After a few minutes Eric walked onto the dance floor and found Kirito. "Wanna do a new song?." Eric asked.

"Yeah, and let's get Klein." Kirito said. After a few minutes Eric, Kirito, and Klein walked onto the stage. Asuna and the others watched them. Klein walked to the juke box and selected a song. They started singing You give love a bad name.

'How did I get roped into this again?' Eric asked himself in his head. 'That's right, I was ganged up on… dang.' Eric thought with a sigh.

"Shot through the heart!" They are sung as loud as they could. After a few minutes of singing the song ended and they all sat down. The girls all clapped.

"Kirito or Klein, either one of you, I don't care which but one of you needs to stick by me so I don't get ganged up on." Eric said as he looked at the girls.

"I had no part in it." Asuna said.

"Yeah your fine, but you four…" Eric said as he looked at Sinon, Leafa, Silica, and Lisbeth.

"Well everyone here seemed to enjoy it." Lisbeth said as they all laughed.

"Alright all you good people we are starting the weekly dance off and sing off battles." The Bar keeper said. "Everyone who wants to dance, come sign up." The bar keeper said. Kirito and Asuna signed up, Klein and Lisbeth did too.

"Good luck guys." Eric said.

"You should join, be our first battle." Kirito said.

"Well 1 not really a battle, 2 I don't dance at all, I can fight that's about it, 3 I have no partner." Eric said.

"Ok." Kirito said as he went and joined the other dancers.

"You know one of us could be your partner." Sinon said.

"I don't dance." Eric said.

"Yeah well then you can enter the singing battle, because you can dang sure sing." Sinon said.

'Drat, I don't wanna dance, but I really really don't want to sing again.' Eric thought.

"Tell you what, rock paper scissors." Sinon said. "You win and you don't do either, I win and you dance and sing." Sinon said with a smile.

'Well I am lucky at that game… and it could get them off my back.' Eric thought. 'But if I lose… dance and singing.' Eric thought. "Ok fine." Eric said as he stood up. Sinon also stood up. 'Ok Eric, time to win this with…. Rock!' Eric thought with a smile.

'He's the fighter type, he will go rock first.' Sinon thought.

"Rock." They said. "Paper." They said. "Scissors." They said. "shoot." They said. Eric had Rock, Sinon had paper.

'S-She has paper, I lost… welp my luck hates me.' Eric thought. Sinon laughed.

"I knew you would go for rock." Sinon said.

"That's my problem, I almost always start with rock." Eric said with a defeated face.

"Well go on and sign up." Sinon said as she sat down. Eric walked to the sign up.

'I know how to get some pay back.' Eric thought as he signed up his name, and as his partner, Asada. Eric walked back to the table. "Come on… Partner." Eric said with a smile while looking at Sinon.

"Wait me?!" Sinon asked.

"Yup, let's dance." Eric said with a smile. Sinon got up and followed Eric to the line of dancers. They stood next to Kirito and Asuna.

"Well well well…" Kirito said.

"Shut up." Eric said. Eric quickly turned his head away.

"He lost our game and he even dragged me into it." Sinon said.

"Well I look forward to watching you two dance." Asuna said. Kirito poked Eric in the arm.

"Any reason you choose Sinon?" Kirito asked Eric in a whisper. Eric looked at him.

"Not really…. I mean pay back I guess." Eric whispered back.

"Any other reasons?" Kirito asked in a whisper.

"I don't know what your implying." Eric whispered back, his voice rising a little.

"Sorry, didn't mean to strike a nerve." Kirito whispered with a laugh.

"Whatever." Eric whispered back.

"What are you two talking about?" Sinon asked.

"O-Oh, um… Nothing." Eric said.

"I was just asking why he picked you." Kirito said, he was smiling at Eric.

'I will get you for this.' Eric said in his mind.

"Why did you choose me?" Sinon asked.

"Payback, that's all." Eric said. 'Though is that really the reason? Dang it! Kirito got in my mind.' Eric thought as he shook his head. Sinon smiled at him and looked away.

'Yup, he's got a different reason.' Sinon thought.

"Alright first up, Kirito and Asuna V.S Eric and Asada." The bar keeper said. They walked into the middle of the dance floor.

"Hey, I meant it, I can't dance." Eric said.

"Fight, just fight the air and let me dance around you." Sinon said. Eric sighed as the music started. You can't touch this by MC Hammer started playing. Eric smiled.

"This is my jam! You ain't gonna touch us!" Eric shouted. Sinon smiled. The two teams started dancing. Eric did like Sinon told him to. 'Punch, punch, shoulder drop and dodge, spin jump kick.' Eric called out moves In his head.

'Wow he is picking the perfect moves right now.' Sinon thought as she danced around him as if she was dance dodging him.

"Can't touch this." Sinon said. Eric grinned. Eric dropped to the ground and started spinning but hopped up like lighting and went back to fight dancing. Kirito and Asuna was doing a mixture of slow dancing and salsa dancing. After the song ended the viewers got to vote.

"87 votes for Kirito and Asuna, and the winners for round 1 are Eric and Asada, with 113 votes." The bar keeper said.

"I am tired, I don't think I could continue." Eric said as he fainted.

"Eric!" Sinon shouted as she caught Eric.

"Well it seems like Eric and Sinon cannot go on, Kirito and Asuna advance to the next round." The bar keeper said. Leafa and Silica ran over and helped Sinon carry Eric to the table where they put him in a chair. Sinon grabbed some water and Leafa opened his mouth and Sinon poured the water in. Eric coughed a little and started waking up.

"D-Dang, my body ain't use to moving or singing like that." Eric said as he rubbed his head.

"It's ok, I'm really tired as well, it was fun though, thanks for choosing me." Sinon said with a smile. Eric nodded.

"Yeah." Eric said with a smile. Klein and Lisbeth was knocked out in the next round and Kirito and Asuna came second.

"It was fun guys, thanks for inviting me." Eric said.

"Well get ready for lots more fun, your apart of our group now." Kirito said. Everyone nodded.

"I should get home, I wanna dive into ALO for the first time." Eric said.

"I can't until tomorrow." Kirito said.

"Same." Asuna said.

"I got work soon." Klein said.

"Got to meet up with a different friend." Silica said.

"Me and Suguha are going on a trip." Lisbeth said.

"Well I can just level up, it don't matter, I need to get geared up anyway." Eric said.

"I can dive." Sinon said.

"Ok, meet you at spawn?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Sinon said as she walked off. Eric got into his firebird and drove back to his house. Eric set up ALO and dived right in.

"I choose Spriggan." Eric said as he selected his race. Eric spawned in the town square. He had orange hair, purple eyes, a piece of armor that looked like an orange lab jacket, with a red shirt underneath, and dark camo cargo pants with blackish shoes.

"Eric?" a girl asked. Eric turned around. He saw a blue haired girl with cat ears, tail, and a bow.

"Sinon? You're a bow user?" Eric asked.

"Yup." Sinon said. "Well we should go raid a higher-level dungeon so you can get some exp." Sinon said.

"Ok." Eric said as he followed her. After just a few hours of playing Eric was high level, could use black wings, and had a cool sword with a sweet power. "I love my Demon Blood Blade." Eric said as he looked at it. It was mostly black but have some red and orange marks in it.

"It's a cool power, but a bad draw back." Sinon said.

"Yeah, I can trap my enemy in blood chains to stop them from moving, but then I can't move as long as I'm using it." Eric said.

"But at least your allies can attack through the chains to do damage without freeing the enemy." Sinon said.

"Yeah." Eric said as he sheathed his sword on his waist. "Flying is still a challenge though." Eric said.

"You get used to it." Sinon said. "Well we should go to Kirito and Asuna's house and log out." Sinon said.

"Wanna race there?" Eric asked.

"You're on." Sinon said. They both activated their wings and took off. Eric was first by a split second.

"That was to close." Eric said as his wings disappeared.

"Yeah, but congrats on winning." Sinon said.

"Thanks." Eric said. They both went inside and logged out. "Well I should get some food and go to sleep, at least I get to see Kirito at school, that's pretty cool." Eric said as he started fixing food. Eric ate and when to sleep. Eric dreamed about being back in ALO. Eric smiled in his sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Cousin!

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Eric woke up at about 11:54am. "I can't believe it's already Sunday." Eric said as he checked his phone. "Texts from a number I don't know." Eric said to himself as he checked them. They were from Sinon, she got Eric's number from Kirito and was wanting to know if he wanted to meet for lunch with her and Kirito and Asuna. Eric just stared at his phone. Eric marked the messages as read and called her.

"Hello?" Sinon asked.

"It's Eric." Eric said with a yawn.

"Are you just getting up?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied.

"Well did you wanna meet for lunch at 12:00?" Sinon asked.

"Where?" Eric asked.

"Well Kirito said you were a good cook so…" Sinon said.

"… Kirito can text you my address." Eric said.

"Cool, see you soon." Sinon said.

"Sure, bye." Eric said as he hung up. Eric went downstairs and started cooking. After a few minutes Eric's doorbell rang. Eric answered it and it was Sinon.

"Hey, turns out I live pretty close." Sinon said as she walked in.

"Cool." Eric said as he shut the door. Sinon sniffed the air and smiled.

"Whatever you are cooking it smells good." Sinon said.

"T-Thanks." Eric said smiling. After a while Kirito and Asuna showed up. They all ate Eric's cooking, it was some fried porkchops and rice.

"That was so good." Asuna said.

"Eric you could so make money off this cooking." Kirito said.

"I need to start coming over for your cooking." Sinon said. Kirito and Asuna agreed with her.

"Well whenever ya'll want I'll gladly cook." Eric said.

"Eric there is a reason we wanted you to play ALO and power up." Kirito said getting serious.

"What?" Eric said getting even more serious.

"Ragnarök." Kirito said.

"I read about that quest on the ALO Forums, it starts in a week." Eric said.

"So you know the danger, we need to do two things." Asuna said.

"First, stop any Fire giants from getting into our world." Kirito said.

"And second kill the king of the fire giants." Sinon finished.

"I'll help!" Eric shouted as he stood up. "I haven't had anything to really fight for since SAO." Eric said with fire in his eyes and a huge grin.

"Good, I need to judge your skill though Eric, I brought my dive gear, let's go and duel right now." Kirito said.

"Ok." Eric said. Eric and Kirito laid down on the ground with their Amuspheres on. "Asuna, Asada, feel free to use my kitchen and Tv while me and Kirito are fighting." Eric said. They nodded.

"Link Start!" Eric and Kirito yelled. After some flying Eric and Kirito landed in some open plains. Kirito took out one of his swords and then took out Excalibur. Eric drew Demon Blood and equipped a sword with a pure orange blade and a black handle. Eric and Kirito charged at each other. Kirito swung at Eric, Eric blocked with one of his swords. Eric and Kirito went crazy, slash after slash. Eric's Demon blood sword lit on fire.

"Sword skill time." Eric said as he slashed at Kirito. Kirito blocked with his other sword and his Excalibur gained a purple aura. Kirito cut Eric in the chest and it was a lighting skill so Eric was shocked and knocked back. "Þeír hræða nótt dýpt, renn helvegr" Eric used a spell.

"Not that spell." Kirito said as he watched Eric be ingulfed in flames. The flames exploded and The Skull Reaper boss from SAO appeared. "Nice try Eric!" Kirito shouted. "Þeír hræða nótt dýpt, renn helvegr" Kirito used the same spell. Kirito was ingulfed in flames and when those exploded the gleam eyes boss appeared. Eric and Kirito fought as Skull Reaper and Gleam eyes. Eric tried to head butt Kirito, but Kirito dodged, picked Eric up and threw him into the ground. Eric wrapped his body around Kirito.

'T-This is insane!' Eric thought as he started stabbing Kirito.

'It's not over yet!' Kirito thought as he broke free of Eric's hold. The spells ended and Eric and Kirito activated their wings and started fighting in the sky. Kirito used a fire sword skill then an ice, fire, ice, fire, ice. Kirito landed all the attacks and sent Eric crashing into the ground with his hp in the red. Kirito charged downwards towards Eric. Eric dodged as Kirito slashed at him.

"I will not die!" Eric yelled as his mind started thinking he was back in SAO.

"Wait Eric you kn-" Kirito was cut off by Eric thrusting Demon blood through Kirito's stomach. Kirito slashed at Eric but Eric ripped his sword out of Kirito and jumped back fast enough to dodge. Kirito dropped down into red. 'His eyes, for him this is not ALO, it's SAO.' Kirito thought as he ran at Eric. Eric unequipped his orange sword and held his Demon blood sword with both hands. "Just one sword won't win you this battle!" Kirito yelled as he stabbed both his swords into Eric's chest. Eric sat there as his health started to fall.

"I couldn't beat you, but I could make it a draw like this." Eric said as he stabbed Kirito in the head. Their health both dropped to 0. There souls just floated there. After a few minutes Asuna logged in and revived them. They all went back to Kirito and Asuna's house and logged out. Eric, Kirito, and Asuna all sat up on Eric's floor.

"Who won?" Sinon asked.

"We both died at the same time." Kirito said.

"Wow Eric! You kept up with Kirito?!" Sinon asked.

"No! he held back." Eric said as he shot a death stare at Kirito.

"Sorry about that, but you shouldn't have held back so much either." Kirito said with a laugh.

"Fair enough." Eric said with a sigh. "So do you think I have enough power to help?" Eric asked.

"Of course you do!" Sinon answered.

"I agree, but we could still use some extra help." Kirito said. Kirito's phone started ringing. "Hello." Kirito said.

"Hey, Eric any good?" Silica asked.

"Yeah, it was a draw." Kirito answered.

"Well even with him, would you like my friend to join?" Silica asked.

"Sure, meet us in ALO." Kirito said. They got off the phone. "Hey Eric since me and Asuna are already here mind if we dive here?" Kirito asked.

"Sure." Eric said. Kirito and Asuna dived into ALO.

"I have to go back home to dive." Sinon said.

"can you drive?" Eric asked.

"Yeah…" Sinon said.

"Here." Eric said as he tossed Sinon some car keys. "Get there and dive quickly." Eric said as he put on his Amusphere. "Link start." Eric said. Sinon left and took Eric's firebird. After about 3 minutes Sinon walked into Kirito and Asuna's house, Kirito and Asuna were siting together on the couch.

"Where's Eric?" Sinon asked.

"Here." Eric said from outside. Sinon went outside and saw Eric flying. "I'm doing a bit of training." Eric said as he flew around doing some air tricks.

"Cool." Sinon said as she sat down and watched.

"Hey guys." Silica said as she walked up. A boy was next to her. He had blue eyes and blue short spiky hair, similar armor to Silica only he had whiter armor and his gloves were green, he was short and a cat-sith, and he had a beast on his head, it looked a lot like Pina, only it was light green. "This is-" Silica was cut off by Eric screaming.

"HUNTER!" Eric yelled as he flew towards the boy, Eric had his Demon Blood sword out and ready for killing.

"Eric!?" Hunter shouted as he pulled out a katana. Hunter just barely able to block Eric's fierce slash. Eric landed.

"Good to see you again cousin." Eric said.

"Yup, been a bit bro." Hunter said.

"I see colada is just fine." Eric said.

"Yeah, he is now in ALO." Hunter said as he petted colada.

"Ya'll are cousins?" Silica asked.

"Yes, we used to live close by but we moved to Japan and split onto our own paths." Hunter answered.

"And here we are, meeting again in a new VRMMO." Eric said.

"Wait your that Eric?" Silica asked.

"Yup, now I remember you." Eric said.

"We all knew each other in SAO." Hunter said.

"Well if your anywhere as good as Eric, it will be nice having you on the team." Kirito said.

"I'm right there with him." Hunter said.

"We should go ahead and go to a dungeon once Klein and Lisbeth get here." Kirito said. Soon everyone was there and they went into a dungeon. They made it to the boss with ease, there was two bosses, a werewolf and a vampire. Sinon, Silica, and Lisbeth was fighting the werewolf while Eric, Hunter, Klein, and Kirito fought the vampire, and Asuna was healing them all.

"This vampire is so dang tough!" Klein shouted as he got hit into a wall. The vampire was 3x stronger then the werewolf. Eric and Hunter was pulling some crazy but combo moves, them and Kirito was the ones that was really hitting the boss hard. Hunter held out his Katana and Eric jumped on the blade and jumped high into the air and when he started falling he slashed the boss on the way to down. The boys heard the girls scream and they looked over. The werewolf ran right past Lisbeth and Silica, knocking them down, and was heading for Sinon.

'My feet… are just moving!' Eric thought as he started running towards Sinon. "I'm coming!" Eric yelled as he activated his wings and gained a speed boost. Eric flew right in front of Sinon and the werewolf clawed him so bad it broke his wings and dropped him into red. "Die!" Eric yelled as he activated his Demon Blood sword power. It trapped the werewolf in blood chains. "Attack now!" Eric yelled.

"E-Eric you jumped in front of the attack." Sinon said.

"Attack! I can't hold him forever." Eric said.

"Why? Why did you do it?" Sinon asked. Lisbeth and Silica slashed the werewolf and killed it. Eric was able to move again. Before anyone could say anything Eric was already running back to help with the vampire.

"Ha!" Eric yelled as he thrusted his sword through the vampire's throat, it finished him off. They all got lots of exp and money. Sinon walked up to Eric.

"Drink this quick please." Sinon said as she handed him a health potion. Eric drunk it. His health was in green. "Don't ever do anything like that again!" Sinon yelled as she slapped him so hard he dropped to yellow. Eric fell to the ground.

"Honestly I'm to numb to fill that pain right now." Eric said with a sigh of relief.

"I'll just do it later." Sinon said. "But thanks for saving me, but next time drink a potion before going back to fighting." Sinon said. Eric just smiled and closed his eyes.

"It all worked out." Eric said. "Oh yeah, here." Eric said as he transferred an item to Sinon.

"What's this?" Sinon asked as she opened her menu.

"Just equip it." Eric said as he opened his eyes and sat up. Sinon equipped it and it was a golden bow with orange glowing triangles in it.

"Wow, the stats on this thing is amazing." Sinon said.

"I got it from the Titan of Arrows, Bowus." Eric said.

"Bowus?! Lot's of players have tried for this bow but couldn't get it. Wait that means this is the Titan bow." Sinon said as she fired an arrow, it flew across the room in an instant.

"The 3rd best bow in the game." Eric said as he got up.

"When did you get this?" Sinon asked.

"Well I may or may not have snuck some time in the middle of a night." Eric said as they all started walking out the dungeon.

"Thanks so much." Sinon said with a smile.

"No problem, just promise to enjoy the bow until you get a better one." Eric said.

"I will." Sinon said. Eric departed from the group and went to a safe hotel and logged out. Eric got up and put up his Amusphere.

"Well since Kirito and Asuna are still in there I might as well make supper for all of us." Eric said to himself. Eric was going through his fridge when he heard his firebird. 'Sinon.' Eric thought. Eric almost ran to the door, he opened it and Sinon was standing there. "Well you coming in?" Eric asked. Sinon nodded and came in.

"So I see they're still diving." Sinon said.

"Yeah, I was going to fix supper for all of us, wanna help me cook?" Eric asked.

"Sure." Sinon replied.

"I was thinking about making some homemade pizza." Eric said.

"I love making pizza." Sinon said.

"Well we should start now right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Sinon said. After a while Kirito and Asuna got up and packed up their Amuspheres.

"What smells so good?" Kirito asked as him and Asuna walked into the kitchen. Sinon was watching the oven with a smile. "Sinon, hey, where's Eric?" Kirito asked.

"Taking a shower, cooking got, kinda messy." Sinon replied. They all looked at the floor and it was covered in food stuff.

"Hey, I can't help I really get into cooking." Eric said as he walked in. Eric was wearing a black t-shirt and red cargo shorts.

"Wow Eric, is that the only colors you have? Red, orange, and black?" Sinon asked.

"No. I have white." Eric said with a smirk. Sinon and Asuna laughed.

"Nothing wrong with having a favorite color." Kirito said.

"Yeah, you probably only have black." Eric said.

"I have more colors then that." Kirito said. The oven dinged. They all ate pizza and Kirito and Asuna said their goodbyes and left. Sinon stayed and helped Eric pick up his kitchen. After a couple of minutes.

"Eric…" Sinon said.

"Yeah?" Eric asked.

"Why did you step between me and the werewolf?" Sinon asked.

"Because you were slightly low on health so it might have killed you, don't want teammates dying." Eric answered.

"Then why didn't earlier in the dungeon when Klein almost got killed, why didn't you try hard to save him?" Sinon asked.

"Well I knew Kirito would handle it, why you asking?" Eric asked.

"No reason." Sinon answered. "Well it's late, I should go." Sinon said.

"Yeah, see you later." Eric said. Sinon left. Eric walked up the stairs to his bedroom. He crashed onto his bed. Eric's phone rang, he picked it up. "Hello?" Eric asked.

"Hello EricRising." A deep voice said.

"Do I know you?" Eric asked.

"No, not really, but I know you. And Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Hunter, and Sinon." The voice replied. Eric stood up in his room.

"Just who the heck are you?" Eric asked getting mad.

"All you need to know is that I am the leader of Laughing Coffin." The leader said.

"L-Laughing coffin's leader?" Eric asked.

"Yes, you and your friends should watch your back, playing VRMMO's is like playing with fire." The leader said before hanging up. Eric sat down his phone.

"The leader of laughing coffin…" Eric said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Coffin issues

[Time for a new chapter, Link Start!]

"The leader of laughing coffin…" Eric said.

"Yes indeed." The leader said.

"How'd you get my number?" Eric asked.

"Same way I have the number and address of you and your friends." The leader said.

"I swear if you go near any of them, I will kill every laughing coffin member, even if it kills me." Eric said with high levels of anger in his voice.

"Cool your jets, I just want to talk, face to face, go outside." The leader said. Eric walked downstairs and went out the front door. Eric said a man in a robe standing in the middle of the street, with a phone in his hand. The leader hung up. Eric walked up to him. "Eric, good to meet you in person." The leader said.

"Can't say I feel the same." Eric said.

"That's a shame." The leader said before taking out a knife.

"Going to stab me?" Eric asked as he put a hand on his gun. "Because the pistol that's strapped to my waist right now, won't like that." Eric said as he drew his gun and pointed at the leader.

"It's a model gun, I know real ones." The leader said with a laugh. Eric dropped his model gun and smiled. "Of course you do." Eric said.

"Now how about this time you die like a good pest." The leader said as he stabbed Eric in the chest. Eric coughed up some blood.

"Well, I don't die easy." Eric said as he punched the leader in the face. The leader stabbed Eric a few more times and ran. Eric took out his phone. "I'm passing out, must warn the others." Eric said as he started dialing numbers. "Kirito!" Eric yelled into the phone.

"Eric! What's wrong?" Kirito asked.

Eric coughed up more blood and was on his knees. "The leader of laughing coffin found and stabbed me, he knows where everyone lives! Get them to safety!" Eric yelled.

"Your stabbed!?" Kirito asked.

"Yes! But you won't make it in time! Just get-" Eric was cut off by coughing. Eric fell face first on the ground.

"Eric! Eric?" Kirito asked over the phone.

"Wow, all I l-landed was one punch. I ain't as good as I am in the games." Eric said as he started closing his eyes. 'No! Not yet, I can still move.' Eric thought as he opened his eyes and started walking down the street. 'Who lives closest to me?' Eric thought.

Kirito called everyone in a group call. "Guys Eric has been stabbed! The leader of laughing coffin knows where we live, we should meet up at Agil's bar!" Kirito yelled over the phone. "Wait what?!" Everyone apart from Kirito yelled.

Sinon's doorbell rang. "Don't answer it." Kirito said as he was running to his bike.

"It's m-me." Eric said from behind the door. Sinon opened the door and Eric was standing with blood covering his entire front chest and dripping down his legs.

"Eric's here! I'm taking him to the hospital!" Sinon yelled before hanging up.

"No, go meet with the others." Eric said. "Even if we get there fast enough, hospitals might not be sa-" Eric was cut off by Sinon starting to push him towards his house.

"We need your car." Sinon said.

"I'll stay here." Eric said as he handed her the keys. Sinon took the keys and ran off towards Eric's house.

"Well you get around fast Eric. Eric turned to see the leader standing nearby. Eric ran at him. The leader tried to stab Eric but Eric knocked the knife from his hands. "Even if I don't kill you, you will die from blood loss." The leader said as him and Eric exchanged fists. Eric picked up the knife and stabbed the leader in the eye.

"AGHHHH! YOU STUPID PEST!" The leader shouted as he ran away. Eric started to give chase but passed out.

Beep. Beep. Beep. 'What is the dang beeping? I hate it.' Eric thought as he started to open his eyes. Eric saw blinding light and then his eyes adjusted and he saw he was in a hospital bed. Kirito and the others were all sitting around the room somewhere. Kirito was the only one awake though.

"K-Kirito." Eric said, his throat was dry.

"Eric, you're up." Kirito said.

"I survived?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, thanks to Sinon being able to drive your firebird like a boss." Kirito replied.

Eric smiled. "I was able to stab the leader in his eye." Eric said with a slight chuckle.

"You are insane, you know that?" Kirito asked with a laugh. Eric nodded. "The cops found out that the leader only had you and Sinon's info, he lied about the rest of us." Kirito said.

"So I have to move again." Eric said with a sigh.

"Well you can, but the cops think they won't try for you anytime soon." Kirito said. Eric passed out suddenly. It was Monday morning when Eric woke up again. Kirito and Asuna were sitting in chairs next to each other. Eric sat up. Eric grabbed his chest from the pain. Eric stood up and unhooked himself from the machines.

"You should rest more." The doctor said when he walked in.

"I rested enough." Eric said. "The three of us should head to school." Eric said.

"Fine, but take it easy, I can have the school let you out for a bit." The doctor said as he left. Eric woke up Kirito and Asuna.

"Trying to head to school?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah I need to." Eric said. Asuna laughed while Kirito smiled.

"The school called, power is out for them, no school this week." Kirito said. Eric's jaw dropped.

"Well that means a lot more rest for me." Eric said with a smile. It was around 12:11pm when A boy walked up to Silica in a mall.

"Hunter." Silica said.

"That's right." Hunter said. Hunter looked just like his avatar, only he was wearing a green jacket with blue pants and shoes.

"Glad you wanted to come with me." Silica said.

"Of course, wouldn't wanna miss it." Hunter said. Hunter and Silica walked around the mall. It started flooding and getting really cold. "We should head to Agil's bar to avoid the weather." Hunter said. Silica agreed and they started running through the streets. "This weather is so bad, be super careful! The sidewalk is wet." Hunter yelled. Silica almost slipped but Hunter grabbed her arm and caught her. "I said Careful." Hunter said as he helped her stand.

"I heard, but I can't walk on the sidewalk that good when it's this wet." Silica said.

"Fine." Hunter said with a sigh.

Agil, Eric, and Sinon were the only ones in the bar. Agil was making some drinks and Eric and Sinon were at a table. Eric was playing on his phone and Sinon was next to him eating. Hunter and Silica basically burst through the door. "It's flooding out there." Hunter said with a huff and puff.

"I can hear." Agil said from behind the bar. Snap. Eric's phone took a picture. Eric was smirking.

"Why'd you take a picture?" Hunter asked. Eric and Sinon laughed.

"Um Hunter." Silica said. Hunter looked down and noticed it. "In case you hadn't noticed you and Silica are holding hands." Eric said to Hunter.

"Well it was raining hard, and I needed to make sure she didn't fall… so…" Hunter said. "So.. go on." Eric said with a laugh. Sinon elbowed him. "Owie." Eric said.

"You heard him, he was making sure she didn't fall." Sinon said.

"Yeah yeah." Eric said with a disappointed tone. Hunter and Silica sat down in front of Eric and Sinon.

"So Eric, how you feeling?" Hunter asked. "Well the doctor said I'll live, I just can't overdo it in the real world." Eric said.

"So you logging onto ALO later?" Silica asked.

"Yeah, I need to do some dungeon raids." Eric said.

"And you Sinon?" Hunter asked.

"Of course, after I make sure he logs in." Sinon said looking at Eric. Hunter and Silica look at each other. "She has to make sure I don't overdo anything, doctor orders." Eric said with a sigh.

"Come on you know you enjoy my company." Sinon said.

"Maybe, yes." Eric said as he started drinking some water. Eric and Sinon left and using Eric's firebird drove back to his house. Eric and Sinon went inside and both dived into ALO. Hunter and Silica took their time walking back after the rain cleared. Kirito texted Hunter and Silica. It said they needed to log in at once. They both rushed back to their houses and dived. They walked into Kirito and Asuna's house.

"What's wrong?" Silica asked.

"It's about Pina and Colada." Asuna said.

"They had a baby!" Kirito shouted.

"What!?" Hunter and Silica shouted. Sure enough Pina, Colada, and a baby red familiar walked into the room. Hunter checked and it was unnamed and tame to both him and Silica.

"It's ours…" Silica said.

"Who's yours?" Eric asked. Hunter and Silica jumped.

"No one!" Hunter shouted.

"Oh." Sinon said as she appeared from behind Eric.

"You sure? Because there is a new creature in your tame list." Eric said with a smirk.

"You checked it?!" Hunter asked.

"Of course, could say I had a feeling that I should take a look." Eric said.

"Yeah we have a new friend. So what!" Silica snapped at Eric.

"Don't snap at him." Sinon said.

"It's ok, I struck a nerve." Eric said as he smiled. Eric and Sinon flew off towards a dungeon.

"I swear the nerve of Eric!" Hunter shouted at no one.

"Well congrats on a new pet." Kirito said.

"Thanks." Silica said.

"New pet?" Klein asked as he walked in.

"Klein! Oh nothing." Hunter said.

"Oh cool, have you seen Lisbeth?" Klein asked.

"Yeah, at her shop." Silica answered.

"Thanks." Klein said before flying off.

"I can't believe he fell for it." Hunter said. Hunter and Silica logged off. Hunter walked out of his apartment. "Man I hate this place, it's crappy and too much money." Hunter said as he started walking down the streets.

"Hello… IMewTwo." A robed person said from an alleyway.

"That's my username in VRMMO's." Hunter said as he faced the robed person.

"Your cousin did a number on my leaders eye." The robed man said. Hunter kicked him in the chest.

"Laughing coffin." Hunter said as he got ready for a fight. The man took off his robe and he was a tall bulky man.

"Let's go little boy." He said. "You may call me Tank." Tank said.

"Ha-ha, you look like a tank." Hunter said as he used his phone to send a text. Tank charged and knocked Hunter to the ground. Tank picked Hunter up and threw him into a dumpster. Hunter got out and swung his fist at Tank.

"Come on, in SAO you and Eric were almost gods." Tank said as he kicked Hunter to the ground. Hunter jumped up and swiped Tank's feet out from under him.

"You want SAO, you got it." Hunter said as he started pounding on Tank's face. Punch after punch Hunter was smacking Tanks face. Tank grabbed Hunter and pushed him off and stood up. Hunter punched Tank in the chest but he didn't want to budge.

"Hey!" A Boy yelled.

"huh?" Tank asked. A boy jumped off the roof and kicked Tank in the head. The boy back flipped onto a dumpster lid and jumped to the ground.

"Eric, got here in just in time." Hunter said.

"Don't forgot about us." Kirito said as him and Klein walked up. "I bought enough backup." Eric said.

"3 ok teenagers and 1 teenager that shouldn't even be running, ha." Tank said as he shook off Eric's kick. They all charged at Tank. Kirito and Klein kicked Tanks legs, sending him to the ground. Hunter hit Tank in the head with a plank of wood off the ground and Eric stepped in front of.

"Shouldn't be running eh?" Eric asked as he picked up a nail.

"That's too far Eric!" Kirito yelled. Eric stabbed Tank in the arm with the nail.

"I wasn't going to kill him." Eric said as Tank passed out from immense pain. Sinon and the others caught up to Kirito and them in time to see Tank pass out. Silica ran up to Hunter and hugged him. Asuna and Lisbeth started talking to Kirito and Klein. Sinon walked up to Eric.

"You over did it didn't you?" Sinon asked.

"I think I'm bleeding again." Eric said as he looked down. His shirt was already starting to stain with his blood.

"Let's get you back to your house so you can get patched up." Sinon said.

"Ok, see you guys later." Eric said as him and Sinon walked off.

"Well I was wanting to leave this place anyway. Might as well do it now." Hunter said as soon as Silica let him go.

"You could stay with me." Kirito said.

"No thanks, I will find a cheap apartment for now, I should have some money before long." Hunter said.

"If you're sure." Kirito said. Hunter nodded. They all helped Hunter pack up and move to a cheaper apartment down town. Eric and Kirito met in ALO by themselves. "You ready?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, and thanks." Eric said.

"You got it." Kirito said. They both drew a sword. Kirito with Excalibur and Eric with Demon Blood. They charged at each other. Eric and Kirito locked blades. "So since I agreed to help you get used to real combat in ALO, how about we talk?" Kirito asked as he swung at Eric.

"Sure, even though I know you want to do it now since I will be too busy fighting to watch what I say." Eric replied as he blocked and counter slashed.

"Maybe." Kirito said with a laugh as he blocked. "How's your antisocial issue coming?"

"Since I met you guys it's been ok." Eric said. Kirito swung at Eric, but Eric dodged and cut Kirito.

"Well you and Sinon seem like good friends." Kirito said. Eric stabbed at Kirito, but Kirito jumped up.

"She's cool." Eric said as he jumped after Kirito.

"Got you!" Kirito said as he swung at Eric and cut Eric's arm. Eric was able to stab Kirito's leg. An arrow went flying by Eric and Kirito's head.

"Don't forget about us." Sinon said. Her and Asuna was wanting to fight.

"Ready Kirito?" Eric asked.

"Yup, team up time!" Kirito yelled as him and Eric fly at Sinon and Asuna. Sinon fired at Eric, But Eric sliced the arrow. Eric swung at Asuna but Kirito blocked. "Sorry, habit." Kirito said as he dodged Asuna's blade. Eric and Kirito jumped back. Eric got hit with Sinon's arrow. Kirito went for Sinon while Eric focused on Asuna.

"Sorry but I'm fighting to win!" Eric yelled as he slashed at Asuna.

"Same!" Asuna yelled as she dodged and almost hit him with her sword. Kirito was having some problems with Sinon.

"You're to dang quick!" Kirito shouted as Sinon kept dodging his attacks and hitting him with arrows.

"Ahhhhh!" Asuna yelled as her hp hit zero and she turned into a soul.

"Sorry bout that." Eric said as he readied his sword for his next fight. Kirito was distracted and got hit with Sinon's arrow. Kirito's hp hit zero and he turned into a soul. Eric was right in front of Sinon. Eric's hp was already red. Sinon shot an arrow at Eric. 'I'm tired, it's fine this time.' Eric thought as the arrow hit him. He hit zero and turned into a soul. Afterwards Sinon revived everyone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Pina Colada

[Hello guys, Letting all you know that my MHA fanfic should be getting a new chapter before too long, but anyway I wanna thank everyone for reading so far and if you like this story then you should favorite and follow this story, Link Start!]

It was now Friday Afternoon. "I'm glad we still have the weekend until school." Hunter said as him and Silica walked down the street.

"Yeah, But then we gotta do a lot of studying and stuff." Silica said with a sigh. "Hey, isn't that Eric?", she pointed ahead at the entrance of the mall.

"Oi, it is." Hunter said. Hunter and Silica ran towards Eric. Eric was leaning against the wall, he was holding some bags. "Hey Eric."

"Oh, sup dude." Eric said. Silica noticed Eric's shirt.

"Nice new shirt Eric." Silica said with a laugh. Hunter looked and noticed that Eric was wearing a brand-new shirt, it was black with white writing.

"This shirt was Asada's idea." Eric said. His shirt read; My bestie is the best sniper in GGO (And cutest).

Hunter laughed at the last part. "Isn't it funny?" Sinon asked as she walked out the mall with some bags.

"Yeah, sure is." Hunter said with a laugh.

"What you laughing at nerd?" Eric asked with a scowl.

"Nothing!" Hunter shouted. Eric smirked and Sinon hit his arm.

"Well it was nice running into you guys, see ya'll later." Silica said as she basically dragged Hunter away. "Well that was fun."

"Yup, sure was." Hunter said with a sigh. "Well we should get back to heading to the pizza place." He replied as he pepped up.

"Right, let's run." Silica said as she started running. Hunter ran to catch up. After A few minutes Hunter and Silica arrived at the pizza place.

"I have never had pizza from PizzaShack, is it good?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah! It's amazing!" Silica answered. Hunter and Silica sat down and ordered some pizza. "So what should we name our new familiar?" Silica asked.

"Coconut." Hunter answered.

"Awww I like that name." Silica said.

"Good, glad to hear it." Hunter said with a smile.

"It's so nice to be able to have some fun together without having to worry about anything." Silica said.

"Sure is." Hunter agreed. Hunter and Silica enjoyed some pizza and conversation before leaving PizzaShack. While walking on the sidewalk they bumped into Klein. "Yo! Klein!" Hunter called out.

"Sup man?" Klein asked.

"Nothing much, just going through town with Silica." Hunter replied.

"Cool, well I have somewhere I need to get to, so I'll see ya'll later." Klein said as he rushed off.

"Always nice to bump into some friends." Silica said.

"Yeah." Hunter said as they went back to walking.

"Wait I have a great idea." Silica said as she suddenly stopped walking.

"What?" Hunter asked as he stopped and looked at her.

"We should invite Asada and Eric to come on a double date with us." Silica replied.

"D-Double date?!" Hunter stuttered.

"Yeah, what do you think?" Silica asked.

"Ummm, we could try." Hunter responded. 'A double date huh…. Wait that means that me and Silica was on a normal date, wait double with Asada and Eric… I hope Eric stays calm.' Hunter thought to himself while Silica called Sinon.

"Hello." Silica said.

"Oh hey." Sinon said.

"You and Eric wanna join me and Hunter on a double date?" Silica asked.

"Yeah!" Sinon replied.

"Sweet, meet us at Larry's Ice-cream shop." Silica said.

"Alright, we'll be there soon." Sinon said before hanging up.

"We are going to meet them at Larry's Ice-cream shop." Silica said as her and Hunter walked towards the store. Sinon just started dragging Eric towards the store. Hunter and Silica got there first and sat down. After a few minutes Eric and Asada arrived. They sat in the chairs opposite of Hunter and Silica.

"This Double is going to be fun." Silica said.

"Double?" Eric asked confused.

"You didn't tell him?" Hunter asked.

"Well I thought he might say no if I just asked." Sinon replied.

"What is going on?" Eric asked.

"Me and you are going with Silica and Hunter for a double date." Sinon answered. Eric was silent.

"Y-You could have just asked me, I would have said sure." Eric said with his face turning red slightly, he looked at the window so no one would notice.

"Oh, well that just means we can all enjoy ourselves." Silica said.

"Yup." Sinon said. The waiter came stopped at their table.

"What would you like to order?" The waiter asked with a smile.

'That smile is so fake it's embarrassing.' Eric said inwardly. 'Wow he has such a big smile, he must be really happy.' Hunter thought. 'I hate this job so much, I hate having to fake smile.' The waiter thought.

"A Chocolate milkshake, and some orange flavored ice-cream please." Eric ordered.

"Same." Sinon said.

"I'll take banana milkshake with banana ice-cream." Silica ordered.

"I'll take Vanilla Milkshake with the same type of ice-cream." Hunter ordered.

"Coming up." The waiter said as he turned and walked off.

"So how long have you and Silica been going out with each other?" Eric asked.

"Only for a few weeks." Silica said.

"How about you and Asada?" Hunter asked with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" Eric and Sinon said together. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Sure." Silica said with a chuckle.

"I got me eyes on you Bro." Hunter said pointing at Eric.

"Yeah well, I need to keep a better eye on you if you and Silica have been going on dates and I didn't notice." Eric said.

"Well that's because of my ninja skill is over 9000." Hunter said with a smile. Eric and Hunter busted out laughing.

"Here's your orders." The waiter said as he gave everyone their Ice-Cream and milkshakes. Everyone thanked him and he left.

Eric started drinking his milkshake. Eric grabbed his head. "B-Brain freeze." Eric said.

"Ha weak." Hunter said as he took a sip of his. Hunter grabbed his head. "Ahh! Brain freeze!" Hunter shouted. The girls giggled as they drank theirs. Eric and Hunter just stared in shock.

"How'd ya'll not get brain freeze?" Eric asked.

"We love this place, we've been here a lot." Sinon said.

"Yeah, We're used to it." Silica said. They are started eating their ice-cream. After they all finished they started walking towards the park.

"This is nice weather." Hunter said.

"Amen to that brother." Eric said with a smile.

"I find it to be kinda cold." Sinon said.

"I'll be back, I got to go back to my firebird for something." Eric said as he ran off to where they parked.

"What's that about?" Silica asked.

"Not sure." Sinon answered. After a few minutes Eric ran back with something over his shoulder.

"Here." Eric said as he handed Sinon the spare jacket he kept in his firebird. Sinon took it and put it on.

"Thanks." Sinon said with a smile. 'Dang it, why must she smile like that…' Eric thought with a smile of his own.

'Eric having a normally happy smile… Aliens! Or something else.' Hunter thought. Silica notice Hunter staring at Eric with an analyzing face, so she elbowed him. Hunter grunted and started walking. They all followed. They found a grassy hill area in the park and they all laid down.

"The sunset is so amazing." Sinon said.

"Yup." Silica said.

Hunter and Eric looked at each other. "Girls am I right?" They said to each other. They felt blazing death stares. Eric and Hunter gulped. They took off running down the hill.

"Get back here!" Sinon and Silica yelled chasing after them. Eric hid behind a tree while Hunter dove into a bush. The girls searched all over but couldn't find them. Sinon smiled. "Eric I see a snake!" Sinon yelled.

Eric darted from behind the tree to Sinon's side. "You ok? Where?" Eric said looking around.

"Caught you." Sinon said with a laugh as she wrapped her arms around his chest in a hug.

"I can't believe I fell for that." Eric said with a sigh. Silica was on the ground laughing. "Hunter's over there." Eric said as he pointed to a bush by the tree he was hiding behind. Silica snuck up to the bush. She saw Hunter's back and she poked it.

"Ahhhhh! I've been shot!" Hunter screamed as he ran out the bush. "Wait…" Hunter said as he realized what happened. "Eric you traitor!" Hunter shouted as he pointed at Eric.

"Yeah, your point?" Eric asked with a smirk. Hunter went to go snap back but Silica hugged him from behind.

"We win, we caught you both." Silica said.

"Yeah, you caught us." Hunter said with a defeated voice.

"Now where have I heard that tone before?" Sinon asked Eric.

"Very funny." Eric said flashing a smile. They all sat on a bench near the walk path. After a while of sitting in silence it was almost fully dark.

"Hey Eric, you awake?" Hunter asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, but I think Asada and Sili-" Eric stopped. "Keiko are both sleeping." Eric said fixing his mistake in a whisper.

"Yeah, Her head's on my shoulder." Hunter said.

"Same, I think we should get out of here before they catch a cold or something." Eric said.

"Yeah, but I don't want to wake them." Hunter said.

"Let's just carry them to the car and put them in the back seats and I'll drive and drop everyone off." Eric said.

"Alright." Hunter said. After a short walk Eric and Hunter carried Sinon and Silica to Eric's firebird, they put them in the back and buckled them up. Hunter got in the passenger's side. Eric got In and drove to Silica's house.

"I'll take her inside, My Honda Rebel is also here so I'll just ride back, thanks man." Hunter said as he picked up Silica and shut Eric's doors. Eric nodded at him as he took her up the stairs to her house.

"H-hey." Sinon said starting to wake up.

"Hey, I just dropped Hunter and Silica off, I'm going to your house for you now." Eric said as he started driving.

"Thank you." Sinon said.

"No problem, just try to enjoy your rest." Eric said. By the time Eric arrived at Sinon's house she was wide awake. Eric and Sinon got out.

"Thanks for dropping me off." Sinon said.

"No problem." Eric said with a laugh.

"Oh here's your jacket." Sinon said as she started to take it off. Eric stopped her.

"Nah, keep it for tonight, besides that gives me a reason to come by tomorrow, if that's fine." Eric said.

Sinon smiled. "I would love for you to come over tomorrow, maybe for breakfast?" Sinon asked.

"Sure, goodnight Asada." Eric said as he got back in his car.

"Goodnight Eric." Sinon said as Eric drove off towards his house.

Eric walked into his house. "What a day." Eric said as he threw his keys on his desk in his bedroom. Eric hopped onto his bed. He started to pass out. Eric passed out and started dreaming. "Die!" Eric yelled as he slashed a laughing coffin member into triangles. "I'll kill every last one of you." Eric shouted as he sliced and diced them all. Eric killed 22 coffin members. A little kid and his mother was nearby.

"He was so cool! He killed the bad guys!" The little boy yelled. "Get away from him! He's nothing but a higher-level killer." The mother yelled as she pulled her son and ran off.

"Tch! I never get a thank you for saving these ungrateful fools." Eric said with a frown. "But then again I don't do it to save them, I just love murdering these Red players." Eric said as he started walking off.

"Hey!" A coffin member that was hiding shouted. He walked out in front of Eric. Eric put his hand on his sword. "Why don't you join us? You are a red player too, we both know you love killing people, what do you say?" The coffin member asked.

"No, I only kill other killers." Eric said as he moved like lighting and beheaded the member. He busted into triangles. Eric suddenly saw the bodies of everyone he killed. "1,10,100,1000, no over 2000 Killers were killed by my hands." Eric said as he looked at his hands, they were blood red. "And I loved it." Eric said with red eyes. Eric woke up in the morning sweating. "No! No! I have changed. I don't wanna really kill other killers now, my taste for blood is gone." Eric said as he sat up, he was breathing really hard. "It is gone right?" Eric asked himself. "Of course it is." Eric said as he shook his head. His phone went ding. Eric had a text from Sinon asking if she could invite Hunter and Silica over for breakfast as well. Eric texted her back saying sure. Eric decided a walk would clear his head so he walked to Sinon's apartment. He knocked on her door when he got there. She let him in.

"Hey, you ok?" Sinon asked.

"Y-yeah, just fine." Eric said faking a smile. Sinon pushed and pinned him against the wall.

"Don't lie, I can tell that's a fake smile… what's wrong?" Sinon asked.

"I had a dream, that's all." Eric said looking at the floor. Sinon let go of Eric.

"start talking." Sinon demanded as she patted her bed. Eric sat down.

"Well while I was in SAO I got a taste for…" Eric stopped.

"It's ok, I won't judge what you did in there." Sinon said as she sat next to Eric.

"I found out I loved killing people in the game, so I started killing red players, I was a mass murder, over 2000 player killers died by my hands." Eric said.

"Y-you killed killers, it was wrong, but you might have saved countless lives by doing so." Sinon said as she rubbed Eric's back. Eric had a small smile.

"You think I saved some people?" Eric asked with hope.

"Yes." Sinon answered. Eric sighed and relaxed. "Now that's the Eric I'm friends with." Sinon said as she hugged him. Eric just closed his eyes and smiled. The doorbell rang. "Coming." Sinon said as she got up and answered it, it was Hunter and Silica. They went and sat down in some chairs. "I'm gonna go cook our breakfast." Sinon said as she started fixing some food.

"Eric, did you have one?" Hunter asked with dull eyes.

"Yeah." Eric said returning to how he was.

"Have what?" Silica asked.

"Me and Eric mass murdered lots of player killers, including laughing coffin members." Hunter said.

"And every now and then we have a dream about it." Eric said.

"Oh." Silica said.

"But it's ok, because we might have saved more people than we killed." Eric said. Hunter smiled at that.

"Yeah, your right." Hunter said with a laugh.

"Hope everyone likes eggs for breakfast." Sinon said as she handed everyone a plate of eggs.

"Eggs aren't my favorite but I eat them for breakfast sometimes, so it's fine." Eric said with a smile.

"I love eggs." Hunter and Silica said at the same time. They all laughed and enjoyed their breakfast.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Back story

[Hello everyone, you may notice that my chapter style changes a bit over the next few chapters and that is because people have been reviewing this story and giving me helpful tips to improve and so to them I say Thank you. Now without any further wait. Link Start!]

It was Monday afternoon. Eric and Kirito walked out of school. "Hey Eric, look over there." Kirito said as he pointed to a person on the sidewalk. The person was staring Eric dead in the eyes.

"I don't like their eyes." Eric said as he stopped walking. "I can see blood lust, laughing coffin is my guess." Eric said as he started running at the person. AS Eric got closer he could tell that it was a man. Eric threw a sharp right hook. The man caught it with ease.

"Your eye is duller then it used to be." The man said as Eric jumped back and Kirito stood beside Eric. "Your eyes used to reflect blood lust as well." The man said. "That was back in SAO." The man said.

"Yeah, I ain't really proud of what I did, but I most likely saved lots of people." Eric said remembering Sinon's words.

"Did you save enough to make up for 2549 deaths?" The man asked.

'Eric killed that many people?' Kirito asked himself as he looked at Eric. Kirito could see the rage boiling inside him now.

"No… And I didn't save enough to make up for 2550 deaths." Eric said as he stepped towards the man. The man backed up and took out a knife. Eric smirked. "Oh goodie, I love a knife to hand fight." Eric said as he kicked the man in the chest and sent him crashing into the sidewalk.

"Eric…" Kirito said. Eric shot him the evilest stare Kirito had ever saw. "Don't kill him, please." Kirito said. Eric ignored him and went back to fighting the man. Eric dodged all his attacks with ease and countered with all he had. Kirito texted the group chat.

"Get up!" Eric yelled as the man was clutching his ribcage while rocking back and forth on the ground. Eric picked up his knife. "It's a real shame." Eric said while looking the knife over. "A blade should have a little blood on it." Eric said as he grinned. 'Stop!' Eric thought to himself. Eric froze in his spot. 'I can't let it control me no more… I'm not in SAO.' Eric thought as he dropped the knife and backed up.

"Eric..." Kirito said as he put his hand on Eric's shoulder.

"I-I lost it." Eric said.

"It's ok, the man shouldn't have started it." Kirito said. Eric stepped forward knocking Kirito's hand off his shoulder.

"No! all he did was look at me, I threw the first punch." Eric said with his anger returning. 'why am I returning to being a monster now?!' Eric thought. Eric started walking towards the man as he got up. 'Why won't my feet stop moving? Stop dang it!' Eric yelled at himself. Suddenly Eric felt arms wrap around his chest.

"Stop… please stop." Sinon said as she hugged him tightly. Eric stopped walking.

'Asada…' Eric thought as a tear came to his eye. Eric looked at the guy and he ran off.

"Thank you for letting him go." Sinon said. Eric tried to turn around and face her but she still hadn't let go of him yet.

"I should be thanking you." Eric said. "If you hadn't of stopped me then I might, no I would have done something I would regret." Eric said. Kirito walked in front of him.

"I think you owe all of us your backstory." Kirito said. "So let's all head over to my house and you can tell us, ok?" Kirito asked. Eric nodded. "See you there soon." Kirito said as he ran off to his bike and left. Sinon let go of Eric.

"Can I ride with you?" Sinon asked.

"Of course you can." Eric said with a smile.

"Thanks." Sinon said. Sinon and Eric walked to Eric's Firebird. Eric got in the driver's seat while Sinon got the front passenger seat. After a few minutes of driving Eric's firebird pulled into Kirito's drive way. Eric and Sinon went inside. Everyone was already there. Sinon went and sat next to Asuna while Eric sat on the couch.

"Whenever you're ready." Kirito said.

"At first all I did in SAO was dungeon raiding, but laughing coffin kept coming after me time and time again." Eric started. "And I got so sick of just fending them off, I wanted to send a message. So I attacked a group of them while they were player hunting." Eric continued. "I killed all 20 within half an hour. And I loved the feel of their pain and the sound of their screams before they died." Eric said as his body started shaking. "I-I couldn't help myself after that. I did keep some respect, I only killed other killers." Eric explained. "I became what they were, I was what I killed. I was a high-level killer." Eric said as he stood up. "Laughing coffin was my main target, I heard about a raid that contained other strong players who was going to attack them, the raid that had you with them Kirito." Eric said as he pointed to Kirito. "How many did you kill?" Eric asked.

"2." Kirito answered.

"You killed out of defense, I know that much. But I killed because I had blood lust. 12 died that night because of my blade." Eric said. "And I never broke away from what I told myself at day one, never kill an innocent person. I always stuck to the killers." Eric said. "And ever since I got out of SAO I sometimes have these thoughts like, What if I belong in laughing coffin or am I a real murder for killing them when I knew what I was doing?" Eric asked started to shake really bad. "I Murdered 2549 people! Yes they were murders but still! I only ridded the game of 2548 killers because I replaced one of them as a killer!" Eric yelled. Everyone was quiet. Eric clenched his fists. "That's all, I need to go blow off some steam, see ya'll later or something." Eric said as he started walking off. Eric got to the front door before he realized Sinon was following him.

"I'm coming with you." Sinon said.

"Fine." Eric said as him and Sinon got in his firebird and took off down town. They pulled up in front of an old looking gym. Eric got out and walked inside, Sinon waited then followed him in.

"Eric!" A buff man wearing a tank top and shorts said as he walked up to Eric.

"What's up Mac?" Eric asked as they high fived each other.

"Nothing much, need some steam beat out of Ya?" Mac asked with a chuckle.

"Even though I've only came here a few times you should know I get my steam out by beating these guys." Eric said with a grin.

"Well we got some new tough guys here, oh and who's this pretty lady?" Mac asked.

"This is Asada." Eric said.

"Hi." Sinon said.

"well howdy." Mac said.

"Got my gear?" Eric asked.

"It's in your locker." Mac said.

"Thanks Mac." Eric said as he walked into the changing room.

"So how many times has Eric came here?" Sinon asked.

"Well he started coming every now and again 2 weeks ago. He's a mighty tough guy." Mac said.

"Dang right." Eric said from behind Mac. Eric was now wearing a black tank top and orange shorts.

"Shouldn't you be wearing a helmet and padding?" Sinon asked.

"Well in my gym we give them a choice, fight with gear or without." Mac said.

"And I choose to fight without gear, I like the feeling of my opponents face against my bare fist." Eric said with a dead face.

"Well I worry about you getting hurt." Sinon said.

"I don't mind the pain, back in SAO I let my enemies knock me to red to give them a chance so I'm used to pain." Eric said. Eric walked off before Sinon could say anything else.

"I worry about that kid sometimes." Mac said.

"What do you mean?" Sinon asked.

"Well I've seen him fight a good many battles now and he doesn't seem to really care about his own body. He fights head on without worrying about death, yes that's why he is so strong and people fear him. But it also means he doesn't know how to stop." Mac said. Sinon just watched as Eric stepped into a ring. A man with an 8-pack climbed into the ring.

"Shirtless 8, want a rematch?" Eric asked.

"Yeah and stop calling me that. My name is Jack." Jack said. Eric just smiled and got into a fighting stance. "Still using that weird stance huh? Well begin!" Jack yelled as he ran at Eric. Eric shifted all his weight to his side and did a lighting quick dodge and spun around and kicked Jack in the back sending him to the ground.

"Get up!" Eric yelled. Already most of the gym was watching the fight. Jack got up and wiped some blood that started dripping from his lips. Eric charged and jumped. Eric did a mid-air spin kick to Jack's face. Jack was sent flying into the floor. Time Eric landed he ran over and pulled Jack to his feet and started pounding on his chest. Eric did a sharp left upper cut and Jack went into the air before landing on the ground, out cold. "That was not enough! Who else wants a piece of pain?" Eric asked. Most people who was watching the fight backed away. "Tch! Weaklings! Is there no one here man enough to challenge me!?" Eric yelled out. A new person climbed into the ring.

"You talk big, but can you back it up?" A man asked. Eric spun around to face the man.

"Yeah, what's your name punk?" Eric asked.

"Kcuhc Sirron." Kcuhc said.

"Let's go, there is no count down in real fights." Eric said. Kcuhc walked at Eric. Eric ran at him. "Die you cocky Bast-" Eric was cut off by Kcuhc kicking Eric in the side. 'I didn't even see his leg moving!' Eric thought as he steadied himself and charged again. This time when Kcuhc kicked Eric caught his leg. Eric pulled Kcuhc off balance and let go of his leg. Eric used his left leg to swipe out the leg Kcuhc was using to balance. Kcuhc fell to the floor. Eric jumped on top of him and started pounding on his face. Eric drew back his fist. Eric went to go punch him but Kcuhc was able to move and knock Eric off and he kicked Eric away and they both got up and ran at each other. Kcuhc moved his left leg back a little. 'He is going for a kick again.' Eric thought. Indeed Kcuhc used his left leg to kick at Eric, But Eric threw up his arms and blocked it, but it had so much power behind it, it left Eric frozen for a second. Kcuhc quickly planted his left leg on the ground and swiftly moved his right leg and kicked Eric in his back where he was exposed. Eric screamed as he fell to the ground. Eric did a roll to get away and he hopped up. "You got some power, I'll give you that." Eric said.

"So do you, but you fight with your rage, that's why you will lose against me." Kcuhc said. Eric snapped.

'WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!' Eric yelled in his mind. Eric ran full force at Kcuhc. "Die!" Eric yelled as he punched with such speed no one could block. Eric's fist connected with Kcuhc's face. Kcuhc went flying back onto the ground. Eric clenched his fist. 'What's that guys face made of? Metal?' Eric thought as his fist felt immense pain. Kcuhc got up and wiped some blood off his face.

"Eric!" Sinon yelled. Eric looked at her. "It's getting late and you are my ride, can you take me home, please?" Sinon asked. Eric groaned.

"I surrender." Eric said as he looked down. Kcuhc walked over and put his hand on Eric's shoulder.

"You're doing the right thing, we tied. But next time I will win." Kcuhc said.

"Tch… I will fight you again." Eric said as he climbed out the ring. Eric and Sinon walked back to the firebird in silence. Eric was driving Sinon home when she noticed blood starting to trickle down from Eric's lip.

"Your hurt." Sinon said.

"I guess, my body is full of the rush so I won't feel my pain until tomorrow." Eric said.

"You should let me tend to your injuries." Sinon said.

"It's fine." Eric said.

"No!" Sinon yelled. Eric was shocked. "You will let me tend to you." Sinon said.

"Y-Yes." Eric said.

"Sorry I snapped." Sinon said.

"It's ok, I shouldn't have let my rage take over in my fight." Eric said.

"Yeah you shouldn't have." Sinon said. After they got to Sinon's apartment they went inside. They went in front of the mirror. Eric's lip was busted, and some minor wounds. Sinon used a wet rag to wipe Eric's lip. "Just take it easy and you should be fine." Sinon said. Eric sighed.

"Right, goodnight." Eric said as he went to the door.

"You aren't the only one who as hurt people." Sinon said. Eric turned and looked at her. Sinon told Eric the story about her shooting the man who tried to rob the postal office. "So yeah, that's why I played GGO, to get stronger." Sinon said.

"Well I think you did the right thing." Eric said.

"Yeah but my hands still have blood on them because of that." Sinon said starting to feel down. Eric walked in front of her and held out his hand.

"Your hands may have one persons blood on them, but could you hold my hand if you knew it had the blood of so many people on it? You killed for defense while I did because I wanted to. So could you?" Eric asked. Sinon just looked at him. Eric went to go talk when Sinon grabbed his hand.

"Yes, I can. Because you still saved people, and deep down we both know you did it to save people as well." Sinon said as she gripped his hand tightly. Eric just stood there.

"I'm glad one of us can say that." Eric said. "It's late I should get home, we got school tomorrow." Eric said.

"Yeah." Sinon said. Sinon let go of Eric's hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Eric said. "Goodnight." Eric said as he left. Eric walked to his firebird. Eric looked at his hand. 'I can still feel the warmth of her hand.' Eric thought. Eric's face turned red slightly. 'Whoa! Where did that thought come from?!' Eric asked himself as he drove home. Eric plopped onto his bed. "I wonder if the others understand what I did… or fear it." Eric asked himself out loud as he started to pass out. In the morning Eric heard his phone start ringing. Eric woke up and answered it. "huh? Hello?" Eric asked groggily.

"Eric, school starts soon and you're not here." Kirito said over the phone. Eric jumped out of bed.

"I'll be there soon!" Eric yelled as he hung up. Eric quickly changed his clothes and started driving to school. "Dang it Kirito, I still have 15 minutes." Eric said as he was still driving. Eric stopped at a donut shop and got a donut before heading to school. "Now I need to hurry!" Eric yelled as he drove to school. "And today… Ragnarök begins in ALO." Eric said as he arrived at school. "After school, the fight starts." Eric said as he went inside.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Kindling flames

[Hello guys, if you are liking the story so far then please follow and favorite it. School starts real soon for me so my chapters might take longer to come out then normal, it depends how hard it is this year, anyway time to get into it. Link start!]

Time Eric got home from school he grabbed his Amusphere and logged into ALO. Eric walked into Kirito and Asuna's house. "Sup." Eric said.

"Eric!" Sinon called out from the kitchen. Eric walked into the kitchen.

"Hey." Eric said.

"Can you help me?" Sinon asked.

"Of course." Eric said.

"Thanks, hold this stuff." Sinon said. She pointed to a pile of weapons on the ground. "We got to take them to Lisbeth so she can make sure they are combat ready, then wait for the others." Sinon explained.

"Got it." Eric said as he grabbed all the weapons. Eric and Sinon flew to Lisbeth's blacksmith shop.

"Welcome, the others are already inside and waiting." Lisbeth said as she grabbed the weapons from Eric. "Hey Eric, give me your sword so I can make sure it's ready." Lisbeth said. Eric shook his head.

"Sorry, but I'm the only one who does stuff to my sword." Eric said as he took it out and started making slight repairs. "My blacksmith skill is low, but still good enough for my sword." Eric said.

"Suit yourself." Lisbeth said as she started on the other weapons.

"Eric, all the players have already deiced what to do." Kirito said.

"Ok explain it to me." Eric said as he sat down.

"Well most of the weaker players stay here and guard the portal that will open, then more average players guard the portal from the inside, And finally the strongest players go out in groups to find and kill the boss." Kirito explained.

"And we are attackers right?" Eric asked.

"Of course." Klein answered. They all sat around talking for awhile until Lisbeth finished the weapons. They went and joined the other players in waiting for the portal to open. After a few minutes of waiting the portal opened. Lots of players jumped through the portal, the average players already started setting up camps and defense lines. Kirito and the others stayed to help while most of the attacker groups went ahead and left.

"Hey Kirito, I'm going to head out now, I know you guys will catch up fast." Eric said.

"I'm coming with you." Sinon said.

"Awesome, I could use someone to watch my back." Eric said with a smile. Sinon gave him a thumbs up.

"Ok, we'll catch up after we finish helping some more people here. Good luck." Kirito said. Eric and Sinon ran off through the caves. The whole map was nothing but caves and tunnels with a few non-cave areas, all the rock was red, and there was many lava pools.

"Hey Sinon, I hear what sounds like some combat up ahead, let's head there and help out." Eric said.

"Right." Sinon said. Eric and Sinon ran into a more open cave room and saw some players attacking a giant rock monster.

"Need some help?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." One of the guys attacking replied. Sinon ran past Eric and towards the monster. Eric started running trying to catch up.

'she is fast.' Eric thought as Sinon was getting further ahead of him. Sinon jumped into the air and started shooting arrow after arrow at the monster. It's health started dropping and it swung it's arm at Sinon. Sinon managed to block most of the attack with her bow, but she was knocked against the wall on the opposite side of the room, her heath dropped to yellow. "You are so going to regret that." Eric said as he stood in front of the monster. The monster swung it's arm at Eric.

"No!" Everyone but Eric called out. Eric unsheathed his Demon blood sword. Eric blocked the attack with his sword, the monsters arm was shattered when it his Eric's sword. The monster roared and fell backwards.

"Lighting skill!" Eric yelled. Eric's sword started sending off lightning bolts, at first they were small bolts, but they started getting bigger and bigger. "Time to end this." Eric said as he pointed the tip of his blade at the monsters head. A giant lightning bolt shot out and hit the monsters head, it shattered into pieces. The monster's heath reached zero and it broke into digital triangles. Eric sheathed his sword. Eric started walking across the room towards Sinon. Sinon and everyone else was awe-struck at what they just saw. Two of the guys ran up to Eric.

"Dude, what skill was that?" One of the guys asked.

"I got it from fighting the dungeon boss in the haunted forest." Eric answered while still walking. Both the guys stood next to each other and started talking about the skill. One of the girls stood a few feet in front of Eric.

"That was amazing!" The girl shouted. Eric just kept walking. "You are really strong, you should join me for coffee sometime." The girl said. Eric just walked right past the girl. She turned and watched him. Eric walked over and stood in front of Sinon.

"Here." Eric said as he handed Sinon a Heath potion. Sinon drunk it and her heath went back to full.

"Thanks, and you know that girl was trying to flirt with you or something right?" Sinon asked.

"Didn't notice, only girl I want to flirt with is you." Eric said smiling at Sinon. Sinon's face went red. 'Wait did I say that out loud?!' Eric thought as his face went red.

"Eric." Kirito said as he put his hand on Eric's shoulder.

"Ahh!" Eric shouted as he jumped.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, we just caught up, what happened here?" Kirito asked.

"It's fine Kirito you just caught me off guard, a rock monster was here so me and everyone here dealt with it." Eric answered.

"More like those two took it down almost fully by themselves. We just got it into Yellow, they killed it within a few seconds." One of the guys said.

"Well it was nothing, Kirito we should get moving. We still got school tomorrow and stuff so we should do as much as we can before we have to log out." Eric said.

"Right, let's get going." Kirito said. Kirito's group went one way and the other group went a different route. After a few minutes of walking around Sinon slowed down and started walking next to Eric. Eric and Sinon were in the very back, a few feet away from the others.

"Why do you stay so far back?" Sinon asked.

"Kirito and Asuna are in the front which means if something comes from the front they can fight it off while everyone groups together to attack, and I stick to the back so I can do that if something comes from behind. And since most of us are in the middle they would be fine if something attacked the middle." Eric explained.

"I'll stay back and help you then." Sinon said.

"Sounds good." Eric said with a smile.

"Say…" Sinon said.

"Yeah?" Eric asked.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Sinon asked.

'I was hoping she forgot about it.' Eric thought feeling the redness returning. "Yes, I meant it 100%" Eric said.

"Good, because I feel the same way." Sinon said smiling at him. Eric smiled the biggest smile he had in a long, long time.

'Wow, I've not enjoyed someone's company this much in years.' Eric thought as he walked beside Sinon.

"Guys, come up here." Kirito said. Eric and Sinon rushed up next to him. "It's a fork in the road, left or right, or straight down the middle." Kirito said.

"Right is always right." Eric said. Sinon laughed. "What?" Eric asked.

"Right is always right? Really?" Sinon asked with another laugh.

"Y-Yeah." Eric replied.

"Well I don't know about always but right is as good as any other choice, let's go." Kirito said. They all walked down the right path. They played for a good few hours, they got through many rooms and fought many monsters.

"Guys, I need to log off and eat. Then I should get to sleep." Eric said.

"Yeah, school and all that." Kirito said. Eric nodded.

"Over here." Asuna called out. Everyone ran over to where she was. "I found a cave that would make the perfect hiding spot for us to log out and stay safe at." Asuna said.

"This is a nice spot." Hunter said as he crawled into the tiny cave. Everyone followed him.

"Yeah, too small for most of the monsters we've been fighting, well we should log out today and I'll text everyone to see when they are ready to log in tomorrow." Kirito said.

"Right, Goodnight everyone." Eric said as he opened his menu.

"Goodnight everyone." Sinon said as she logged out. Eric logged out. Everyone said their goodnights and logged out. Eric went into his kitchen and started frying some chicken. Eric's phone rang.

"Hello?" Eric asked as he answered his phone.

"Hey." Kirito said.

"What's up dude?" Eric asked as he started peeling some potatoes.

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet up after school, I need to talk to you about something." Kirito said with a grim tone.

"What about?" Eric asked as he set down his knife and potato.

"It's about laughing coffin." Kirito said. Eric picked up his knife and stabbed the potato.

"Ok, See you in the morning Kirito." Eric said.

"Night Eric." Kirito said.

"Night Kirito." Eric said as he hung up. Eric finished peeling his potato and finished cooking and ate fried chicken with French fries. Eric crawled into his bed. Cody hopped onto his doggy bed and passed out almost instantly. "Cody, is swear you could sleep for days and still be tried." Eric said with a slight laugh. "That makes two of us." Eric said with a yawn. Eric laid on his bed and passed out. After school Eric and Kirito walked to a nearby tea & coffee joint. Kirito ordered coffee while Eric requested tea. "So, what about laughing coffin?" Eric asked as Kirito sipped his coffee.

"We both know that you stabbed the leader in the eye, and that is keeping them from making to many bold moves. But they will get brave again and do something that we might not be able to counter." Kirito said.

"You're right, but I have no clue where to find the leader." Eric said.

"I might." Kirito said. Eric raised an eyebrow. "I know where a laughing coffin member is, he might not talk, but maybe you could convince him to talk?" Kirito asked.

"With or without force?" Eric asked hopping for with.

"I would prefer if you just sat down and talked to him." Kirito said.

'He didn't say without.' Eric thought with a snicker. "Alright I will talk to him, as a fellow SAO survivor and a player killer." Eric said, frowning at the last part.

"Thanks, I'll let you know when." Kirito said.

"Ok, and since you invited me here, I'll leave you the check." Eric said as he finished his tea and left.

"Of course he would leave it to me." Kirito said with a sigh. Eric drove home and logged into ALO. Eric opened his eyes and saw that everyone was still offline. Eric crawled out the cave and stretched. Eric saw monsters starting to spawn in a huge room just a few rooms ahead.

"Well I might as well get an early start." Eric said as he ran towards the room. Eric's eyes got caught on a pedestal in the center. It was protected by a force field, but Eric could still tell what was inside, a map. 'That map might lead us to the final boss.' Eric thought as he started killing the monsters. 'I must have to kill everything; these rock monsters are easy enough.' Eric thought as he took two out at once. After a few minutes Eric had destroyed every monster in the room. "What? Everything is dead. And the force field has not dropped yet." Eric said aloud. "Unless!" Eric yelled as he noticed that a new monster had spawned in. "This one is new." Eric said as he saw it. Unlike the big bulky rock monsters this new one was human sized and was made of flowing lava. It ran at Eric with a great bit of speed. 'Oh man! It's fast." Eric thought as he dodged a punch. Some drips of lava dropped onto Eric's arm. Eric rolled away and jumped up. "Great, I have to dodge the punches and lava drips." Eric said. The monster kept attacking Eric, Eric tried slicing the monster but couldn't. 'Of course I can't normally cut it, it's flowing lava." Eric said as he face palmed. The monster had gotten right in Eric's face. "Crap!" Eric yelled as he started to move. But with how close the monster was, Eric wouldn't be able to fully dodge. Whoosh! An arrow flew by Eric's face and went into the monster, it had an ice skill on it and it trapped the monster in ice.

"Attack it quick!" Sinon yelled from the entrance.

"Right!" Eric yelled. Eric swung his sword fast, hard, and precise. It chopped it ice, and the monster in half. The monster broke into digital triangles. The force field around the map lowered. Eric and Sinon walked over to the map and looked at it.

"Wait!" Sinon yelled.

"This is a map telling us the route to the main boss." Eric said.

"Hey guys." Kirito said as him and the other walked in. After Eric explained everything Kirito took pictures of the map and posted it to the game forums so that everyone knew where to go. Kirito and the others stuck to the map and was well on their way when they came into this huge room, it was way bigger than any other room in the cave system that they had saw yet. "According to this map, this is the first mini boss." Kirito said. They all walked in, both exists to the room were sealed by rocks. The room started rumbling. A huge wolf-like boss appeared. It had black fur and had random spots of fire all over it, it was also huge. "This is Skager the hellhound, remember once his heath gets low he will change his attack pattern." Kirito said as Skager yelled.

"I'll give us a temporary advantage!" Eric yelled. Eric slammed his Demon blood sword into the ground. Blood chains came out of the ground and kept Skager from moving. "It drains my MP kinda fast, attack with everything ya'll can!" Eric yelled. Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Leafa, Silica, Hunter, and Sinon attack over and over again, doing the best they could. After about a minute Eric's MP ran out and The chains broke and Eric could move again. Skager was low on HP now.

"Careful, his attack pattern is now going to change!" Kirito shouted. Suddenly Skager shrunk a little. He disappeared and reappeared behind Eric. Skager bite Eric in the arm before running so fast that he was attacking everyone with amazing speed.

"This is bad!" Eric yelled as Skager jumped at him. Eric closed his eyes. Whoosh! Eric felt something brow past him. Eric smiled. 'That sound, I can know it by now.' Eric thought with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Raging Fire

[Sorry this chapter took a bit longer than normal, I'm back in school and am having to readjust to my new schedule. But never fear! For the chapters will continue to come out, maybe a bit slower at times but still. Remember if you like the story then you should favorite and follow the story, Link start!]

Eric opened his eyes. Skagger was on the ground with an arrow in his arm. Eric looked at Sinon. "Thanks for saving me again Sinon." Eric said flashing a smile, Skagger got back up.

"Watch out!" Sinon yelled as Skagger went after Eric again.

"Not this time beastie." Eric said as he ducked and Skagger went over his head. Eric started running towards Sinon. "Hey! I have this thing well I don't like people touching my swords, but here!" Eric yelled as he chucked his sword as Sinon. Sinon caught it. "Slam it into the ground!" Eric yelled as Skagger got behind him. Skagger went to go claw Eric, but Leafa and Asuna came and blocked his claw with their swords. "Whew, I'm in need for saving a lot lately." Eric said. Kirito opened his menu and started running through it.

"Eric here!" Kirito yelled as he pulled out a backup sword and slide it under Skagger and right to Eric.

"Hurry! His claws are getting heavy!" Asuna yelled as her and Leafa struggled to keep the claw up. Eric equipped his orange sword and the sword Kirito gave him. Eric stood up holding them both. Eric placed the blades against Asuna's and Leafa's blades.

"Quadruple Blade!" Eric yelled as the three of them pushed up really hard and sent Skagger lost his balance and fell on his back. Skagger tried to get up but Sinon stabbed Demon blood into the ground and the blood chains kept Skagger from moving.

"Whoa this is cool!" Sinon yelled as Everyone else pounded on Skagger. Eric and Kirito jumped into the air above Skagger.

"Lightning skills now!" Eric yelled out. Eric activated a lightning skill on his orange sword, Kirito activated a lightning skill on Excalibur, Lisbeth activated a lightning skill on her mace. The three of them struck Skagger with lightning bolts.

"Fire skills now!" Kirito yelled as he started free falling very fast towards Skagger. Kirito activated a fire skill on his other sword, Klein activated a fire skill on his katana, Hunter activated a fire skill on his katana as well. Hunter and Klein ran and slashed both of Skagger's legs with their fire katana attacks. Kirito slashed Skagger right down the middle.

"Asuna, Leafa, and Silica attack him quick!" Eric shouted as he started to fall towards Skagger.

"Hurry guys! My MP is running out!" Sinon yelled. Asuna and Silica used Water skills and hit Skagger as hard as they could, Leafa followed up with a wind skill attack. After they finished and got out the way they gave Eric a thumbs up. Eric smirked.

"I needed my friends a safe distance away for this skill." Eric said as he started humming. Eric was only a few feet away from Skagger. Eric's Orange sword started glowing. "Death Skill activate!" Eric yelled.

"No way he has that! Death and Life skills were just added in the last update, he already has one!" Kirito yelled.

'Whoa!' Sinon thought.

"Punch it Eric!" Hunter yelled out. Eric's sword turned pure black and had a purple glow around it.

"Fear the skull, for the bones symbolize Death! The Reaper's Slash!" Eric yelled out as loud as he could. Eric started to swing his sword down at Skagger as Eric neared him. Sinon's MP hit zero and the chains instantly broke.

'NO!' Everyone thought.

"Eric!" Sinon shouted.

'I'm to close and he is really fast, I can't hope to dodge. My best bet is to carry out the attack.' Eric thought as he started to get faster with his swing. Skagger started to stand. Kirito noticed something very bad.

"ERIC! Look at his health!" Kirito yelled out. Everyone looked at Skaggers health, it instantly regenerated and was now full, his attack pattern stayed the same as when it was low though, but now his speed and power was increased. Skagger stopped Eric's blade with his finger. Eric just hovered there in the air, unmoving.

'He s-stopped my sword with a mere finger….' Eric thought. Skagger raised his other claw and stabbed all 5 claws into Eric's chest. Eric let go of his sword, the skill was canceled. Suddenly Eric's health took a sharp dive.

"Skagger didn't even hit him again, why did his hp drop?" Klein asked.

"Because According to the forums, Death skills when used, and even canceled delete some of the users hp." Leafa said. Skagger pulled his claws out of Eric and Eric's body started falling. Eric suddenly reached out and grabbed his orange sword. Eric growled as he hit the ground and started running circles around Skagger.

"You haven't killed me yet!" Eric yelled as Skagger kept trying to hit him. Kirito joined in and both him and Eric ran circles around Skagger, avoiding all attacks. Eric unequipped his armor, he got twice as quick. "I have speed reducing armor, lower speed, but higher defense. But when my hp is low I think I need speed." Eric said as he started slashing Skagger as he ran circles. Kirito just smirked and started running faster and faster. Eric and Kirito was running so fast that they became like a blur of orange and black. "Fear the skulls, for the bones symbolize death! The Reaper's Slash!" Eric called out. His orange sword changed back to black with a purple glow. Eric stopped running and stood in front of Skagger. Kirito jumped onto Skagger's back and started stabbing him rapidly. Skagger jumped and rolled over and slammed Kirito into the ground, Skagger stood up and got right in Eric's face.

"Kirito!" Asuna yelled out. Kirito rolled on the ground and gave a thumbs up.

"I'm alright, Eric watch out!" Kirito shouted. Skagger lifted his claw into the air and started to slam it down on Eric.

'I can see it now.' Eric thought with a smirk. Eric's eyes could now see Skagger's claw moving towards him. 'My speed stat is back up to its normal spot, I can now see his speed, including the slight after images.' Eric thought. Eric stepped to the side and dodged the claw. Everyone else just saw Eric suddenly change spots without moving. "In real life I train my speed and power, I'm used to fast fights." Eric said as he swung his sword upwards. Eric's blade connected with Skagger's jaw and sliced his whole head in half. The death skill wore out, Eric's HP dropped into the red. Eric lifted up the sword Kirito had tossed him earlier. "Fear the skull, for bones symbolize Death! The Reaper's Slash!" Eric yelled as he activated the same skill on Kirito's sword.

"Eric no!" Klein yelled.

"Your HP!" Sinon shouted.

"Dang it Eric, you always go way to far in fights!" Hunter yelled as he started running towards Eric. Everyone started running towards the fight. Kirito blocked them.

"Don't, we would just get in the way." Kirito said. 'I have faith in you Eric.' Kirito thought. Eric slammed the sword into Skagger's side, cutting his chest all the way across. The skill wore off and Eric dropped to a sliver of health. Skagger started to attack Eric when suddenly it stopped.

"The real power of the skill takes a second to activate after I slash something." Eric said smiling. Two Grim Reapers came out of nowhere and started slashing Skagger up using their Scythes. After a few seconds they both disappeared. Skagger was on the same amount of hp as Eric. Eric dropped Kirito's sword and gripped his orange sword with both hands. Eric ran and stabbed at Skagger as Skagger went to claw Eric. Eric wouldn't be fast enough to end Skagger before he himself was taken out. 'Crap!' Eric thought. Whoosh. Eric instinctively smiled as the sound as an arrow flew past him. Sinon's arrow pieced Skagger's head, dropping his hp to zero, Skagger burst into triangles. The doors opened and the boss was defeated. Eric unequipped his orange sword and kept it in his backpack, Kirito took his sword back.

"Here." Sinon said as she handed Eric his Demon Blood sword.

"Thank you." Eric said with a smile.

"For saving you or giving your sword back?" Sinon asked.

"For my sword." Eric said. "This is for saving me." Eric said as he hugged Sinon.

"I-It was nothing, the team needs all the help it can get." Sinon said as Eric stopped the hug.

"Well either way I was not in the mood to die so." Eric said smiling.

"We should get moving." Hunter said.

"Agreed." Eric said.

"Alright follow me." Kirito said as he brought up the map and started running, everyone followed him. Along the way two other attack groups joined up with Kirito's group. Eric kept checking the real-world clock in his game menu.

"Guys, we should log out, it's getting really late." Eric said. Kirito's group stopped and found a place to hide and log out while the other teams went a bit further before logging out. After the next day of school, Eric was the first one to get back online in ALO. Eric woke up and stood inside the tiny cave they hid in, there was a S.O.S message for all attack teams on the public message board. Eric recognized the name of the person who posted it. "The two attacker teams from last night need help with the next boss." Eric said to himself. Eric typed a message and sent it to Kirito to see when he got online. Eric left the cave and started running through the caves. The other attacks were getting trashed by the second boss, he was a giant minotaur with a huge battle axe, he was standing on a bridge going across a lava mote. Eric ran onto the bridge and drew his Demon Blood sword. Eric jumped in front of a random guy and blocked the Battle Axe with his blade.

"Thanks man." The guy said.

"No problem, Info quick." Eric said as the minotaur pulled back his battle axe.

"Well his name is Caw, his attack pattern is really hard since he is in the red of his final health bar, but the problem is his power." The guy explained.

"Power?" Eric asked.

"He can shoot giant lasers out his mouth." The guy answered.

"Get your people off the bridge, I got this." Eric said grinning. Eric ran towards Caw. "I hope your ready to die!" Eric yelled as he dodged Caw's battle axe. Eric started running up Caw's body. Eric jumped from Caw's leg to his right arm. Eric jumped at Caw's head. Caw opened his mouth and red light started to shine. 'Oh so it's basically a Cero attack from that other anime I watched, I forgot the name of it though.' Eric thought. Caw fired the laser beam at Eric. Eric raised Demon Blood into the air. "HAAAAA!" Eric yelled as he slashed downwards. Eric's sword had so much power in the swing that when the laser neared him it started to split in half and broke before it reached Eric. "Easy- Wait what?!" Eric yelled as another laser shot at him. Eric couldn't react fast enough for this one, it hit Eric and he came crashing onto the ground. Eric stood up. "Ok, I'm gonna stop him from attacking and I want all of you to attack at once." Eric said.

"How you gonna keep him from moving?" A random guy asked.

"How do we know that you won't really use us for a distraction and steal the kill?" A random girl asked.

"We trust you Eric." Kirito said as him and the other stepped next to him. Eric smiled as he stabbed Demon blood into the ground. The Blood chains shot out of the ground and wrapped around Caw making him unable to move. The other teams sat there with their jaws dropped.

"Go!" Eric shouted. Kirito's group pulse the other two teams moved in and started attacking with everything they had. Eric smirked as he pulled his sword out the ground and ran at Caw. "Everyone attack at the same time!" Eric yelled. Caw went to go move but everyone was already starting to attack. Hundreds of attacks happened all at once, Caw's HP dropped to zero. Everyone cheered at the bosses downfall.

"Sorry about doubting you." The random dude from earlier said.

"It's no big deal." Eric said. Everyone walked inside the huge castle.

"According to the map, the roof is where the final boss is, we should wait here until all the attacker teams show up, that way we have better odds of winning." Kirito said. Everyone agreed.

"Well we will all message each other when everyone is here." Eric said. Most of the people logged off. Eric took off his Amusphere and picked up his phone. Eric dialed a number. "Been awhile huh?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." A man's voice answered.

"Anyway I can get you two to get on a plane and come visit me in Japan?" Eric asked.

"Hey, Eric wants us to fly to Japan." The man said. There was a voice in the background. "He wants to know why." The man said.

"I need help with a problem, Laughing coffin." Eric said.

"Laughing coffin…" the man said. The voice in the background got louder then went back to quiet. "He says you are playing and we can't wait to see you again." The man said.

"Same here Uncle." Eric said. Eric hung up. "Now all I need is for Kirito to set up a meeting between me and that laughing coffin member, then I might can teach them guys a lesson, with some help of course." Eric said with a laugh. Eric got into his firebird and drove over to Kirito's house. Eric knocked on Kirito's door. Kirito answered the door.

"Hey Eric." Kirito said.

"Hey man, since it will be a bit before all the teams get to the castle and there is really nothing to do at the castle while waiting, what do you say we do a bit of real-life sword sparring?" Eric asked.

"Sounds fun." Kirito said as he welcomed Eric inside. Eric and Kirito went inside the dojo and both grabbed a training sword.

"No gear needed." Eric said.

"Right, let's go." Kirito said. Kirito and Eric lunged at each other as they swung the swords. The two swords clashed over and over again. Eric ducked and stabbed at Kirito's chest. Kirito dodged and swung at Eric. Eric blocked and ran along side Kirito's blade, keeping Kirito's sword from slamming down on him he got right in front of Kirito. Eric pulled his sword down and spun around and his sword lighting tapped Kirito's side.

"Got Ya." Eric said with a smirk.

"Nice, wanna have some drinks and snacks after a little more sparring?" Kirito asked.

"Sure." Eric said. Eric and Kirito went back to sparring for a while.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: D.D.R

[Hello again guys, I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Remember if you like the story then you should favorite and follow it. Link Start!]

Eric sighed. "Dang Kirito you are really good with swords." Eric said as he drank some water.

"You ain't so bad yourself." Kirito said. Eric walked to the door.

"I guess I will be going now." Eric said.

"Wait! You doing anything today?" Kirito asked as he got out of his chair.

"Not really." Eric replied.

"Well since we both are free and there is no rush to log into ALO, you wanna go walk around the city a bit?" Kirito asked.

"That sounds fun, I would need to stop by my place to pick up my wallet but sure." Eric said.

"Wanna invite Asuna and Sinon to come with us?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, Let me text Sinon and ask her if she wants to come." Eric said as he took out his phone. Eric started texting Sinon.

"I'll call Asuna and ask her." Kirito said as he took out his phone. Kirito face timed Asuna and she picked up. "Hey Asuna, me and Eric are gonna go to the city for some fun. Want to tag along?" Kirito asked.

"Sure, sounds fun." Asuna replied giving Kirito a thumbs up.

"Alright, Meet at the mall?" Kirito asked.

"yeah, see you there." Asuna said.

"Right." Kirito said as he hung up.

"Sinon says she will come." Eric said.

"Sweet, can you go get your wallet then pick up Sinon and meet me at the mall?" Kirito asked.

"Sure." Eric said. Eric got into his firebird and drove back to his house, grabbed his wallet, then drove to Sinon's apartment. Eric walked to her door and knocked. Sinon opened the door.

"Eric." Sinon said with a smile.

"You ready?" Eric asked.

"Yup." Sinon answered as she stepped out and locked her door. They got into Eric's firebird. Eric started driving into the city. "What's that on your shirt?" Sinon asked as she pointed to Eric's shirt.

"Oh… It's a character from an anime I watch." Eric said with a smile.

"Looks like a strong character." Sinon said.

"He is really strong, his name is Ichigo." Eric said.

"Cool." Sinon said. Eric looked at Sinon. Sinon noticed him. "Eyes on the road please." Sinon said.

"We are at a red light, besides it's hard to focus on the road when you have a cute girl sitting beside you." Eric said. Sinon just looked at him. '….. quick think of something to say.' Eric thought. "Oh look its green, we should be there soon." Eric said as his face turned a light shade of red. Eric's firebird pulled into the mall parking lot. Eric and Sinon got out and stood in front of the car. Sinon hugged Eric. "You ok?" Eric asked.

"Y-Yeah, thanks for the complement earlier." Sinon said. Eric just smiled.

"Look at you two." Kirito said with a smirk. Eric and Sinon jumped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eric asked.

"Oh nothing." Kirito replied.

"Hey guys." Asuna said as she came up and wrapped her arm around Kirito's arm.

"Hey." Kirito said with a smile.

"Hi." Eric said.

"Hello." Sinon said.

"What was ya'll talking about?" Asuna asked.

"Nothing." Eric said.

"If it's nothing then why is your and Asada's faces red?" Kirito asked grinning.

"Shut it!" Eric and Sinon yelled. Asuna laughed.

"Well shall we go look around?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Kirito said. They all walked into the mall.

"Oh man, I haven't see one of these in so long." Eric said as he stopped and looked inside an arcade.

"What?" Asuna asked.

"A Dance Dance Revolution machine." Eric answered. They all walked inside of the arcade. Eric and Kirito walked up to the ticket seller. Kirito bought him and Asuna some tickets while Eric bought him and Sinon some tickets.

"Thanks." Sinon said as Eric handed her some tickets.

"No problem." Eric said. Eric walked up to the D.D.R Machine. A kid wearing a white hoodie, dark blue jeans, white shoes, and he was wearing a white hat.

"Wanna go a round or two?" The boy asked Eric.

"Sure." Eric said. Eric and the boy put in some tickets.

"Two rounds, you pick the first song, then I will pick the last." The boy said.

"My name is Eric." Eric introduced himself.

"Darrick." Darrick said.

"Outcasts by Shinedown." Eric said as he selected the song on the screen.

"3, 2, 1, Dance!" The machine said. Eric and Darrick started off slow but midway into the song they were both really moving.

'Eric is hitting the arrows perfectly.' Sinon thought as she watched them.

"Song complete, replaying on insane mode!" The machine said. Instantly the speed was 3x faster. Darrick started missing arrows. At the end of the song on insane mode Eric had only missed 5 arrows while Darrick missed 12.

"I know we were going to play again but man you tired me out." Darrick said as he was sweating.

"I understand, that was the first round I've play in years. It was intense." Eric said huffing and puffing. Darrick and Eric shook hands and Darrick walked off.

"You were amazing." Sinon said.

"Thanks, even though I'm tired I kinda want to go again." Eric said. An employ that worked at the arcade over heard and walked up to Eric.

"Hello, I couldn't help but see your score and over hear what you said, Do you like challenges?" The employ asked.

"Yes I do… Clark." Eric replied while looking at Clark's nametag.

"Well there is this girl who is the master of D.D.R and she is here right now, looking for someone who is brave enough to challenge her." Clark said. Eric smile.

"Don't overdo it Eric." Sinon said.

"I won't." Eric said. "I'm brave enough." Eric said with his over cocky smile. Clark walked off and a minute later a girl walked up to Eric. She was wearing jean shorts, had a green Shirt with a dark grey jacket, she had a pink hat that was tilted to the side.

"I heard you wanna challenge me." The girl said. Eric nodded.

"I'm Kelly." Kelly said.

"I'm Eric, you can pick the song." Eric said.

"Ok" Kelly said as they walked over to the machine. "I choose E.T by Katy Perry." Kelly said as she selected the song. This song started out slightly faster but still Eric kept up just fine. After about 30 minutes the song was on god mode, moving at 15x the normal speed. Neither one of them had missed an arrow.

"Hey Sinon!" Kirito called out as him and Asuna walked over to Sinon.

"You guys done?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah, where's Eric?" Kirito asked. Sinon pointed to the machine.

"Whoa! He is moving." Asuna said.

"Go Eric!" Kirito shouted.

"Seems like we built up a crowd." Eric said.

"yeah." Kelly said. They kept moving.

'Crap, my legs are really hurting.' Eric thought. Sinon noticed that every time Eric's foot hit the ground he would flinch.

'He is over doing it.' Sinon thought.

"Wow folks this is a new record, they beat god mode and now the machine is going to play the song on full loop until one of them slips up, the winner will receive what ever they want from the arcade shop." The Arcade owner said.

"I'm not even close to slowing down, you?" Eric asked.

"Nope." Kelly answered. An arrow appeared on the screen and it was moving fast. 'The right foot!' Kelly thought. Kelly wasn't able to hit it in time but Eric was able to nail it. A split-second later Eric missed a down arrow. They both stopped moving.

"The winner is… Eric!" The machine shouted.

"Good job." Kelly said.

"Thanks, you too." Eric said. Kelly walked off. Sinon walked up and softly hit Eric in the arm. "What was that for?" Eric asked.

"You over did it." Sinon said pointed at Eric's legs.

"They hurt but It's fine, I need some food after all this." Eric said.

"Come get your prize." The owner said.

"Oh right." Eric said as he remembered. Eric, Kirito, Sinon, and Asuna walked to the prize counter.

"Pick anything you want." The owner said. Sinon was looking at a ,3-foot big, dog plushie.

"That." Eric said as he pointed at the dog plushie.

"Ok." The owner said as he gave it to Eric. They all left the arcade.

"Here." Eric said as he handed Sinon the plushie.

"You're giving it to me?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah." Eric said.

"Thanks!" Sinon said as she grabbed the plushie and hugged Eric. Eric smiled.

'I got to make her smile, that's all I want.' Eric thought as Sinon yet go. Sinon and Asuna started looking at it and talking, Kirito walked up next to Eric.

"Nice move." Kirito said. Eric smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Eric said.

"If you don't then why are you smirking?" Kirito asked. Eric just laughed.

"Because I can if I want to." Eric replied. Kirito just smiled and shook his head. Eric's and Kirito's stomachs growled. Eric and Kirito looked at each other.

"How about we head back to Kirito's house and we have dinner there?" Asuna asked.

"That would be fun, we could order pizza." Sinon said.

"And watch a movie." Asuna added.

"Yeah, let's do that." Kirito said.

"Alright man, I'll swing by and pick up some pizza before going to your house, You get a movie ready." Eric said.

"Sounds like a plan." Kirito said. Kirito and Asuna went to Kirito's house. Eric and Sinon started driving to the pizza place.

"I know you gave this to me because you saw me looking at it." Sinon said as she hugged the plushie.

"Do you now?" Eric asked.

"Yes." Sinon said. Eric smiled.

"Indeed." Eric said. Eric pulled into the Pizza place's parking lot. Eric got and ran into the shop to get some pizza. Eric got it and drove to Kirito's house. Everyone sat on the couch and enjoyed some pizza and a movie. After the movie was over Asuna was asleep on Kirito's shoulder and Sinon was sitting next to Eric. "I'll be leaving now, thanks for the fun Kirito." Eric said in a whisper.

"No problem man, drive safe tonight." Kirito whispered back. Eric and Sinon got up and went outside. Eric was moving slowly.

"You ok?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah." Eric answered as they got into his firebird. Eric started driving. Eric kept looking at the truck behind them.

"What?" Sinon asked.

"That truck has been following us for a while now." Eric said.

"You're sure?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied. Eric pulled into an abandoned parking lot. The truck parked next to the firebird. "When I get out lock the doors and stay inside." Eric said.

"Please stay safe." Sinon said. Eric got out and Sinon locked the doors. The truck doors opened and 4 guys in hoods hopped out, they had baseball bats.

"Gentlemen." Eric said.

"We don't want you, we want the girl." One of them said as they pointed at Sinon.

"Yeah well see that's a problem, because she's with me right now." Eric said.

"We will go through you if we must." A different guy said.

"Bring it." Eric said smirking.

"This isn't a fair fight." The guy who first spoke said.

"You're right, You should have brought more guys with bats." Eric said. Eric started leaning left and right. The tallest one stepped up to Eric. Eric struck like a snake, fast and accurate. Eric hit the guy square in the nose, the guy tumbled back and fell to the ground holding his broken nose. Two others ran at Eric. They both swung their bats, Eric dodged both of them and laughed. The shorter of the two guys dropped his bat and took out a knife. He held it out straight in front of him and ran at Eric. Eric side stepped and grabbed the guy's knife hand, then using his other hand grabbed the guy's neck. Eric procced to jump forward, and between Eric's force and the force of the guy's charge, the guy was slammed into the ground, Eric then lifted the guy's knife hand into the air then slammed it into the ground making him drop the knife. Eric started kicking the guy in the ribcage. The other guy ran off. "Coward, wait I broke one nose, one guy on the ground, and the other ran off. Where's the fourth?" Eric asked as he started to look around. He suddenly heard glass being broken, followed by a girl's scream. 'Asada!' Eric thought as he turned around. The fourth guy had snuck around and broken Eric's Firebird window and had grabbed Sinon and pulled her out the car and was trying to drag her into the truck. Eric took off running towards the guy. The guy turned and looked in time to see Eric jump. Eric kicked the guy in the face, causing him to get knocked onto the ground a few feet away. Eric helped Sinon to her feet. Sinon hugged him tightly. "It's ok, I got you." Eric said as he hugged her back. Eric looked around, the broken nose guy and the ribcage guy were gone, and the other dude was knocked out cold on the ground. Eric let go of Sinon and called the police. Eric and Sinon told the cops everything they knew; the cops confiscated the truck and arrested the man that Eric had knocked out. The police offered to drive them home but Eric told them he can still drive. Eric was driving down the street. Eric pulled up at Sinon's apartment. "If you want I have an extra room if you wanna stay with me for the night." Eric said before Sinon got out of the car.

"Yeah." Sinon said.

"Right." Eric said. Eric drove to his house. Eric and Sinon walked in. Eric showed Sinon where the guestroom was.

"Thank you Eric." Sinon said as she laid down on the bed.

"No problem, wake me up if you need anything. I'm right next door." Eric said.

"Goodnight." Sinon said as she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight." Eric said as he closed the door. Eric went into his room and fell onto the bed. 'It could be random that the guys just happened to target Asada, or it could be laughing coffin.' Eric thought. Ding! Eric got a text from Kirito. Eric called Kirito. "Hey…" Eric said.

"Hi, you sound ruff, something wrong?" Kirito asked. Eric filled him in on what happened.

"And you think it's laughing coffin trying to send a message or something?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied.

"Well, I talked to my contact and well… The laughing coffin member that I was going to have you talk to has been murdered. He was supposed to be safe but… they got to him." Kirito said.

"Kirito… Soon… Real soon I'm going to do something really stupid, you in?" Eric asked.

"What are you going to do?" Kirito asked.

"I got back up on the way, I'm gonna track down the leader of laughing coffin… then I might kill him or turn him into the police." Eric answered.

"You're right, that is stupid, but I'm in, I got to go, night Eric." Kirito said.

"Good to hear you're with me, night." Eric said as he hung up. Eric closed his eyes. 'Soon all of us will be safe.' Eric thought. Eric soon passed out.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: A **Sin**_ic _Time

[Hello everyone, I love coming up with chapter names because I can make them really cool or funny, maybe even kind of a pun. And I spelled scenic like that on purpose. And I imagine quite a few people might can figure out why it's spelled like that for the chapter name. Anyway remember if you like this story then you should follow and favorite it. Link start!]

Eric opened his eyes and got out of bed. Eric stepped out of his bedroom. Eric stared at the guest-bedroom door. "Hmmm" Eric said deep in thought. Eric walked downstairs and went into his kitchen and started cooking some breakfast. Eric took out a pot and started grabbing some ingredients. After a while Eric had mixed together a pot of chicken noodle soup and it was cooking. Eric sat down on the couch in his living room and started watching TV. Eric heard Sinon walking down the stairs. Eric turned his head to see Sinon walking towards the couch. "Morning." Eric said.

"Morning." Sinon said as she sat next to Eric.

"I started cooking breakfast." Eric said as he paused the TV.

"I know, it smells good." Sinon said.

"It should be done soon." Eric said. Eric stood up. "What do you want to drink?" Eric asked.

"Orange juice." Sinon replied. Eric nodded and went into the kitchen, he poured 2 cups of OJ and 2 bowls of soup. Eric went and gave Sinon hers and then he sat down with his. After breakfast Eric grabbed his keys.

"I need to go and get my firebird window fixed, you gonna come?" Eric asked.

"Sure." Sinon answered as she got up and went with Eric. Eric and Sinon got into the firebird. Eric drove to a mechanic.

"Hey, you think you can get my window fixed today?" Eric asked the head mechanic.

"For the right price yeah." The head mechanic replied. Eric handed him some money.

"That good enough?" Eric asked.

"It will be done in a bit. I got a few customers ahead of you." The head mechanic said before walking off to get back to work.

"Well that solves that." Eric said. "Asada I need to talk to you about something." Eric said as him and Sinon sat on a bench outside the mechanic shop.

"What is it?" Sinon asked.

"I think the guys from last night were either hired by laughing coffin or were laughing coffin members." Eric said. Sinon just stared at him. "And I know that your apartment's locks are pretty bad, I got a good look at them last time I was there with you and someone could break in within a couple of seconds." Eric explained. "So I would like it if you would let me talk to the landlord and see about getting you better locks." Eric said.

"You can try, but he doesn't like people changing up the apartments to much." Sinon said. Sinon gave Eric the number to the landlord, Eric called the number.

"Hello?" The landlord said.

"Hello, I was calling because I have a question about the apartments." Eric said.

"What?" The landlord asked.

"If I bought some locks could I replace the old locks with the new ones?" Eric asked.

"No, there is no changing the locks, if something happens to them I have backups." The landlord answered.

"But the locks are crappy and doesn't really protect the person living in the apartment." Eric protested.

"I think they do good enough, good day." The landlord said as he hung up on Eric. Eric put his phone his pocket.

"I hate that guy." Eric said.

"He said no?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied.

"It's ok." Sinon said.

"No its not! Those locks are weak and with what happened last night I need you to be safe." Eric said.

"Well if you want I wouldn't mind staying with you for a while." Sinon said. Eric looked at her. "If you want me to stay." Sinon said.

"Yeah, My house is big enough to house 3 people living together so having you there won't be any trouble, besides I quite enjoy your company." Eric said smiling.

"Well then will you help me pack up some things and move it to the guestroom?" Sinon asked.

"Might as well go ahead and grab everything you want and stop paying for the apartment, I got enough space for you to just throw everything in the guestroom and stuff. Then after laughing coffin and everything I can help you find a better apartment." Eric answered. Sinon stood up.

"Ok." Sinon said.

"Only if you want to, it's all up to you though." Eric said.

"I want to, then I get to have your cooking all the time." Sinon said with a smile. Eric laughed.

"And I hope you like pizza, because I have order pizza and stuff a lot." Eric said. Eric and Sinon walked around town talking for a while before returning to the mechanic shop. All of Eric's firebird windows had been replaced with brand-new ones. "Whoa, you did all of them." Eric said as he looked at it.

"I had some extra windows in the size so I figured I would go ahead and do them all." The head mechanic said as he handed Eric the keys.

"Thanks, you got yourself a new loyal customer." Eric said. The head mechanic smiled and nodded before walking away to work on other vehicles. "Want to go ahead and grab the stuff from your apartment?" Eric asked as him and Sinon got into the firebird.

"Yeah." Sinon said. After a couple of hours and a few trips Sinon's old apartment was empty and she was no longer paying for the place. Eric sat on the couch.

"Oh man that was rough." Eric said as he sighed.

"Thanks for your help, I'm gonna head upstairs and unpack and organize my new room." Sinon said before taking the last box up the stairs.

"I'm not looking forward to school tomorrow, that stupid unit test." Eric said to himself. 'I stink at mathematics.' Eric thought. "Wait." Eric said as he grabbed his phone. He dialed Kirito. "Hey." Eric said.

"Oh hey dude." Kirito said.

"You busy?" Eric asked.

"Not really, why?" Kirito asked.

"Are you good with math?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, let me guess you want me to come over and help you do some studying before tomorrows test?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, I can have pizza delivered here." Eric said.

"… I'll be there in a little while." Kirito said.

"Ok thanks man." Eric said before ending the phone call. Eric walked up the stairs and stood in the doorway to Sinon's room. Eric saw her struggling to push a desk into a corner. Eric stepped in and pushed it into the corner.

"Thanks." Sinon said.

"No problem, Kirito's coming over later to help me study, I'm gonna order pizza. Want some?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Sinon answered.

"Ok, I'll let you know when it gets here." Eric said. Eric helped Sinon move a few things around her room before he heard the doorbell. "That's Kirito, I'll let you know when food is here." Eric said.

"Ok, have fun studying." Sinon said. Eric smiled before walking downstairs and opening the door. Kirito came in and the two of them sat at the kitchen table. Kirito brought out some flash cards.

"I'll go ahead and order pizza since it's getting late, then we can study before it gets here." Eric said as he picked up his phone. He ordered 3 pizzas. Eric and Kirito spent a few minutes doing flash cards and reviewing notes before pizza arrived. "Even though it wasn't a huge study session I feel like it really helped, thanks." Eric said as he handed Kirito a pizza box.

"No problem, wait why'd you get 3 boxes?" Kirito asked.

"1 for everyone." Eric answered.

"Are you sure you can do math?" Kirito asked.

"Ha-ha, I'll be right back." Eric replied before walking up stairs. After a minute Eric walked back down with Sinon right behind him.

"Asada, what are you doing here?" Kirito asked.

"Eric doesn't think my apartment was safe enough so I'm staying with him for a while." Sinon answered as she grabbed a pizza box. Kirito started smiling. Eric noticed.

"No! whatever you are thinking no." Eric said as he pointed at Kirito.

"I wasn't thinking anything, expect how you always seem to be looking out her Asada, being a knight in shining armor." Kirito said messing with Eric.

"Yeah, I can look out for friends can't I?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, but why so much for her?" Kirito asked. Eric's face turned red.

"N-No reason, I swear Kirito you act like there is something going on." Eric said trying to laugh it off. Sinon smiled at Eric. 'well there is a reason…. Dang it! Kirito's getting to me, that's all. Right?' Eric thought.

"do that much Eric?" Kirito asked.

"Huh?" Eric asked confused.

"Think about Asada?" Kirito asked with a sly smirk.

"Ahh! How'd you know?" Eric asked feeling the redness in his face returning.

"I didn't till you confirmed it." Kirito said as he laughed.

"He got you there." Sinon said with a laugh.

"Whatever, let's just eat." Eric said. They all enjoyed some pizza and Kirito said his goodbyes and left. Eric and Sinon walked up the stairs. "Whelp I guess we'll get up in the morning, go to school, then afterwards we should log into ALO and just make sure we have anything ready for when everyone gets there." Eric said as him and Sinon stood in hallway.

"Sounds good, mind if I get up first and take a shower?" Sinon asked.

"Sure, I normally get up at 6:00 just to let you know." Eric said.

"Ok, Goodnight." Sinon said.

"Goodnight." Eric said. They both went into their rooms and laid in bed. Eric stared at the ceiling deep in thought. 'As much as I'd like to just think it's Kirito in my head I know that's not true. I like Asada, That's why I feel like I have to keep her safe.' Eric thought. Eric felt himself drifting to sleep. 'No matter what happens…. I will protect her.' Eric thought as he fell asleep. It was 6:34 in the morning when Sinon opened Eric's door and looked in.

'He's still sleeping? He said he likes getting up at 6:00, and it's already past 6.' Sinon thought as she stepped into his room and walked over to his bed. "Eric, wake up." Sinon said softly. Eric grumbled. "You need to wake up now." Sinon said keeping the same tone as earlier. Eric opened his eyes and stared right into Sinon's eyes. "Good Morning." Sinon said smiling.

"Good morning." Eric said with a yawn.

"It's past 6:30, I figured you wouldn't wanna sleep any later." Sinon said.

"Yeah, thanks." Eric said as he got up.

"How about you go and take a shower while I fix breakfast?" Sinon asked.

"That sounds good." Eric said as he walked to his closet and started looking around. Sinon went downstairs to the kitchen. Eric grabbed his school uniform and went to the bathroom. Eric stepped into the shower and cut the water on, time the water hit his skin he jumped back and cut the water off. "Dang that's like lava hot!" Eric shouted. Eric saw that the hot water nob was turned all the way. "Nope, that won't do." Eric said as he shook his head. Eric turned off all the hot water and turned the cold nob to max. Eric turned the water on and smiled when it hit his skin. "Much better." Eric said with a sigh. After Eric finished his shower he went downstairs. Sinon heard Eric talking to himself and getting mad.

"What's wrong?" Sinon asked as she saw Eric enter the kitchen.

"Ahh! Stupid tie!" Eric shouted as he was struggling with his school tie. "I have no clue how Kirito says these things give him no problem." Eric said with a sigh.

"I swear, come here." Sinon said. Eric walked up to Sinon. Sinon grabbed the tie and started doing for Eric. Sinon finished and stepped back. "There, easy." Sinon said.

"It's not easy for me." Eric said with a sour face. Sinon laughed, Eric smiled.

"Breakfast is done, hope you can eat Waffles." Sinon said.

"I haven't had waffles in a long time." Eric said as he sat down at the kitchen table with Sinon. They finished breakfast and got into Eric's firebird. Eric dropped Sinon off at her school.

"Asuna is coming to pick me up so you can just go home or something." Sinon said.

"Alright, have a good time at school." Eric said with a smile before driving to his school. Eric got out and heard some noise from behind the school. "Man I've only got a couple of minutes to get to class…. But I do love a good fight." Eric said with a grin as he started walking towards the noise. Eric rounded the corner and saw Kirito trying to fight 3 huge kids. 'Whoa those guys are like football players on steroids.' Eric thought as he started sweating a little. The biggest one slammed Kirito against the wall. "Hey!" Eric yelled as he started walking towards them.

"Stay out of this, this does not concern you." The biggest kid said.

"Well see you fighting my friend and it's 3-1 so I'm here to make it even 3-2." Eric said.

"You should go back to math class." The smaller one said.

"Huh? There is 3 of ya'll and 2 of us. And since it is me and Kirito we are even now." Eric said grinning.

"Ya'll can't win against us!" The biggest one said as he ran at Eric. Eric dodged the kid, he then walked over to the sports shed. Eric pulled out 2 baseball bats.

"It's not metal… shame." Eric said as he walked towards the Kirito. Eric gave Kirito a bat. "Ready?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Kirito said. The biggest kid punched at Eric. Eric stood there and the kids fist hit Eric's chest, but Eric just stood there with a smile.

"After some run ins with very bad people I have pumped up my workouts." Eric said as he swung the bat. It hit the kid in the head with a loud thud, the kid fell to his knees. The other 2 kids ran off. Eric and Kirito put the bats up.

"Thanks for the help." Kirito said as him and Eric walked towards class.

"No problem, let me know if they bug you again, I love to trash bullies." Eric said. They got into class and took a math test. Eric started walking towards his firebird. Suddenly Eric was hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Eric rolled on the ground and hopped up. "Alright who has a death wish!?" Eric shouted. The three kids from earlier were back, with baseball bats. Eric smiled.

"Get ready to die boy." The biggest kid said.

"What are your names?" Eric asked.

"Drake." The biggest kid said.

"Jack." The smaller one said.

"Bill." The middle one said. Eric ran at Drake. Eric dodged the bat and punched Drake in the face, Drake stepped back and shook his head.

"Wow that was… weak." Drake said. Eric had a shocked face. They all dropped the bats and walked up to Eric. Bill kicked Eric's leg and sent him to the ground They all stood above him kicking him. "Die!" Drake shouted as he kicked Eric really hard. Billy and Jack held Eric up and kept him from moving. Drake started punching Eric in the chest repeatedly. Drake upper cut Eric's face. "Had enough wimp?" Drake asked as Bill and Jack laughed. Eric looked at Drake, blood was dripping from his lips. Eric eye's went wide and he smiled.

"Man you guys are fun." Eric said with a laugh. They were shocked. "My turn." Eric said as he freed himself from Bill and Jack's hold. Eric pun kicked Bill to the ground, Eric landed 6 punches on Jack before he fell. "Your boys are pretty weak." Eric said as he turned to Drake.

"What are you?" Drake asked.

"The Demon swordsmen." Eric answered as he walked towards Drake. Drake went to go run away but was stopped by Kirito.

"This is for earlier today!" Kirito shouted as he punched Drake in the face. Drake stepped back. Eric ran and tackled Drake to the ground and knocked him out cold. Eric stood up. "Guess what Eric." Kirito said.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Everyone is ready for the boss fight." Kirito answered. "And tomorrow is Saturday so no one has school and we can hit it hard tonight." Kirito explained.

"So what time is it going down?" Eric asked.

"9:00." Kirito replied.

"Awesome." Eric said.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Raging Flames

[Hello everyone, I hope ya'll are enjoying the story so far if you are than remember to follow and favorite the story. Link Start!]

Eric walked into his house. "Asada?" Eric called out. "I guess she is not here yet." Eric said to himself. Eric checked the clock. 'Right now it's 5:42, and with how tired I am I can take a nap till about 8:00ish then fix dinner and eat. And still be in ALO by 9:00.' Eric thought. Eric grabbed his phone and went to YouTube. Eric grabbed his earbuds and put them in his ears, he selected a nightcore music playlist and set it to max volume. Eric looked at the couch then the stairs. "Freak it, I don't wanna go upstairs." Eric said to himself as he laid on the couch. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. After about 30 minutes Sinon walked into the house and saw Eric on the couch.

"I can hear his music from here." Sinon whispered to herself. Sinon walked over to Eric. 'How can he sleep on the couch and have that music jamming so loud?' Sinon thought. Sinon laid on the couch beside Eric and took out one his earbuds and put it in her ear. 'Well the couch is comfy, and even with the music way to loud… it is relaxing.' Sinon thought as she yawned. Sinon closed her eyes. 'I should get up so I can go do stuff…but I can close my eyes for a second.' Sinon thought before she passed out. A while later Eric started waking up.

'Man that was some good sleep, wait why am I only hearing music in one ear?' Eric thought as he opened his eyes. Eric saw Sinon asleep right in front of him. 'Well that explains it, she took one of my earbuds…. So cute.' Eric thought with a smile. 'Wait what time is it?! Well I'm not gonna wake her up so if it's 9:00 I'm sorry Kirito.' Eric thought.

"Eric?" Sinon asked in a sleepy voice.

"huh?" Eric asked as he realized he was staring off into space. Eric looked at Sinon. "Hey sleepy head." Eric said with a grin. Sinon just mumbled and buried her head into Eric's chest. Eric's face turned red and he sighed. "Well I was gonna fix some food but." Eric said.

"Food later." Sinon said in a muffled voice.

'But I'm hungry…. Ah it can wait.' Eric thought with a smile. After a few minutes Sinon moved and looked at Eric.

"What were you gonna fix?" Sinon asked.

"Maybe chicken tenders." Eric replied. Sinon yawned and got off the couch, Eric sat up. "So I take it you want me to fix food now?" Eric asked with a smile. Sinon nodded. Eric got up and went into the kitchen. After Eric fixed chicken tenders him and Sinon ate and got ready for ALO. "Alright it's 8:50 now so should we go ahead and log in?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Sinon answered. Eric and Sinon each went into their room and laid down and put on the Amuspheres.

"Link Start!" They yelled in sync. The world of ALO loaded in around them. Eric saw that there was lots of people around getting ready, but no one they knew was on. Eric got up and yawned.

"I'm still tired." Eric said as he stretched.

"You slept for a while, how are you still tired?" Sinon asked as she started going through her equipment.

"I dunno." Eric replied as he equipped his orange bladed sword. 'I plan on using both swords in this fight.' Eric thought.

"Hey, glad to see ya'll on." Kirito said as he stood up.

"Hey Kirito." Eric said.

"Hi." Sinon said still looking at her equipment.

"I hope ya'll are ready for a long battle." Kirito said.

"Well we had a nap and ate so I think we're good, right?" Eric asked as he looked at Sinon.

"Yeah, we should be just fine." Sinon replied as she looked at Eric.

"I wish I had took a nap." Kirito said with a sigh.

"You should've, I was so tired I went to sleep on my couch." Eric said with a laugh.

"That couldn't have been comfy." Kirito presumed.

"Actually it was not so bad." Sinon said.

"oh, well couches are good to sit on so I guess taking a nap on one ain't bad." Kirito said. Hunter and Silica logged in, Eric and Sinon walked over to them. "Wait a minute." Kirito said as he realized what happened. 'I was talking to Eric about the couch and said it must have been uncomfortable, then Sinon jumped in and said it wasn't that bad.' Kirito thought. 'And Eric said he was sleeping on the couch, but if Sinon knew it was comfy to lay on… then…' Kirito thought. "Oh I'm so gonna mess with Eric using this." Kirito said with a laugh.

"Using what?" Asuna asked from behind Kirito.

"Oh Asuna, glad to see you're on." Kirito said. Kirito whispered what he was thinking into Asuna's ear.

"Well maybe, but they could have both slept on the couch at one point before which is why they both know it ain't bad." Asuna said.

"Yeah, but I can't mess with Eric using that." Kirito said.

"Is it a sport for you, messing with him?" Asuna asked with a laugh.

"Well I'm just trying to get him to do something, it's obvious that they like each other. Eric and Asada are just slow and if someone doesn't help them it will take forever for them to do anything." Kirito replied.

"I guess that's one way of looking at it." Asuna said nodding her head.

"And I just like to mess with Eric." Kirito said.

"That's what I thought." Asuna said. Eric, Hunter, Sinon, and Silica walked over to Kirito and Asuna. After a few minutes Klein, Lisbeth, and Leafa logged in and walked over to the others.

"Well looks like everyone who can make it is here, so let's get this thing started." Kirito said. Every player there walked over to the giant doors leading to the roof. Everyone stepped onto the roof. There was a sudden burst of flames in the sky and a boss fell out the fire and landed on the ground. He was the size of a player, red skin, black armor covering his whole body, and a white sword.

"I am Faiadrodo, the fire lord." Faiadrodo said. "I see everything." Faiadrodo said with a laugh. Hunter ran at Faiadrodo, Hunter jumped and poked Faiadrodo in the eyes.

"How about now?" Hunter asked with a laugh. Everyone but Eric had a shocked look on their face.

"Damn you!" Faiadrodo yelled.

"Language!" Hunter yelled as he jumped back to the other players.

"That would have hurt if it wasn't for the fact that I am a god." Faiadrodo said with a smug voice.

"Does this hurt?" Eric asked from behind Faiadrodo.

"Wait how'd he get over there?" Everyone asked. Eric bit Faiadrodo on the arm where he had no armor.

"You are the most stupid players ever!" Faiadrodo yelled as he tossed Eric towards the other players. Eric laughed. "Enough games! Time to die!" Faiadrodo yelled as his 6 boss bars loaded in.

"6 huh? Let's go!" Kirito yelled. Eric and Kirito was the first ones to charge at Faiadrodo.

"So ya'll wanna die first then? That can be done." Faiadrodo said as he unsheathed his sword and ran at Eric and Kirito. Eric and Kirito jumped out the way in time for over 100 arrows to fly past them towards Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo used his sword and destroyed every arrow. Eric and Kirito moved to both sides of Faiadrodo. Eric swung at Faiadrodo's head, Faiadrodo blocked with his sword.

"I got 2 blades!" Eric yelled as he thrusted his demon blood towards Faiadrodo's chest.

"Weak." Faiadrodo said as he stopped Eric's sword with his hand.

"Now you can't block me!" Kirito yelled as he slashed in a X shape on Faiadrodo's back. Faiadrodo laughed and grabbed Eric by the throat and spun around and did the same to Kirito.

"Let me give ya'll a tip, my first 2 bars can only be dropped by arrows, my next 2 can only be dropped with magic, then my last bars can only be dropped by blades." Faiadrodo said as he slammed Eric and Kirito into the ground. Eric grinned. "Why are you smiling?" Faiadrodo asked.

"Because… I know an archer who can take you out fast." Eric said as he grabbed Faiadrodo's arm, Kirito grabbed Faiadrodo's other arm keeping him in place. Faiadrodo growled as he felt the tip of an arrow get pressed against his head. Sinon shot the arrow point blank, the arrow hardly scratched Faiadrodo's helmet. Faiadrodo flung his arms into the air and slammed them back into the ground making Eric and Kirito let go, he then turned around and faced Sinon. Many more arrows hit him from behind thanks to the other archers, Sinon already had her next shot ready.

"Burn!" Faiadrodo shouted as he pointed his sword at Sinon, fire shot out from the tip of the blade.

'I'm too close to dodge!' Sinon thought as the flames drew near. Suddenly Eric jumped in front of Sinon, Eric slashed the air with such speed and force that the flames disappeared.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Eric yelled with rage.

"I told you it's useless! You can't hurt me with your swords!" Faiadrodo yelled as he ran at Eric. Eric tossed his Demon blood sword over to Kirito.

"Hold onto that for me dude." Eric said as Kirito caught it. "Sinon! Give me an arrow!" Eric yelled. Sinon tossed Eric an arrow, he caught it and unequipped his orange sword. Faiadrodo slashed at Eric, Eric let the sword cut into his arm. "You can't dodge this!" Eric shouted as he plunged the arrow into Faiadrodo's chest. Faiadrodo's hp dropped a little, Eric smirked as he ripped out the arrow. Faiadrodo jumped into the air and dodged the arrows from other players.

"Here!" Sinon shouted as she tossed Eric a second arrow. Eric caught it and smiled. Sinon started firing arrow after arrow at Faiadrodo while he was in the air. Faiadrodo was running in the air dodging.

"Get down here and fight!" Eric yelled.

"You have wings don't you?" Faiadrodo asked.

"Stop firing, load your arrows but wait!" Eric yelled at everyone as he activated his wings and took to the sky.

"Yes boy, come to me." Faiadrodo said as his sword got lit on fire. Faiadrodo slashed at Eric, Eric blocked using an arrow, but the fire from the blade hit Eric and dealt damage.

"Ahhhhh!" Eric yelled as he stabbed Faiadrodo's arm with the other arrow. Faiadrodo backed up and Eric removed the arrow from Faiadrodo's arm. Eric's hp was already yellow while Faiadrodo was still on the first bar. Suddenly Kirito flew behind Faiadrodo and stabbed him in the back with two arrows, Kirito ripped them out and flew over to Eric.

"You're not the only one who can use arrows instead of swords." Kirito said. Eric grinned.

"Then let's knock him down a few pegs." Eric said.

"You got it." Kirito said. Faiadrodo ripped the fire off his sword and using the flames made a copy of his sword, he was now using two pure white swords. Eric and Kirito yelled as they flew full speed at Faiadrodo. The three of them battled in the sky for several minutes before Eric and Kirito's wings started to go out.

"The time on ya'lls wings is almost out, and I'm just now on my 2 bar." Faiadrodo said with a laugh as Eric and Kirito charged him.

"Kirito I have a plan, hit him with everything you got in this one attack!" Eric yelled. Eric said a Spriggan magic spell before flying in front of Kirito. Eric activated his death skill on the arrow. "Fear the skull! For the bones symbolize death! The Reaper's Slash!" Eric yelled as the arrow turned pure black. Eric thrust the arrow at Faiadrodo.

"Nice try kid!" Faiadrodo yelled as he slashed the arrow with his sword and kept pushing his sword down towards Eric. Eric didn't even try to dodge he let the sword cut into his arm again.

"I'm a Spriggan, I can make Illusion magic!" Eric yelled as he swung the other arrow at Faiadrodo. Eric's spell made it look like he activated the skill on his left arrow when in fact he did it to his right arrow. The arrow plunged deep inside of Faiadrodo's chest. And before Faiadrodo had time to attack Eric, Kirito came out from behind Eric and stabbed Faiadrodo in the face with both his arrows and then grabbed Eric as their wings timed out. They started falling towards the ground. "Fire now!" Eric yelled to the players as the grim reaper appeared and started attacking Faiadrodo. He was so busy blocking the reaper and dealing with the pain that he didn't see the 100 arrows flying at him, they all hit him right as the reaper disappeared. Time Eric and Kirito hit the ground Asuna healed them both back to full health. Eric was huffing and puffing.

"You are one crazy dude." Kirito said as him and Eric looked up at Faiadrodo.

"I know." Eric said with a smirk as he watched Faiadrodo's hp drop to it's 3 bar.

"All magic attacks go all out now!" Kirito yelled as Faiadrodo landed on the ground. Lots of players used long distance energy shots to attack Faiadrodo, so many were fired that there was a huge cloud of smoke covering the roof. All the players stopped firing.

"No! keep Fi-" Eric was cut off by Faiadrodo burying both his swords in Eric's chest. Faiadrodo healed all outside damage, his health stayed the same it just looked like he was back to normal.

"Eric!" Sinon yelled as she shot an arrow at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo's fire copy sword disappeared and he caught the arrow in his free hand.

"Arrow's don't work anymore." Faiadrodo said.

"Þeír hræða nótt dýpt, renn helvegr" Eric used a spell.

"Huh?" Faiadrodo asked. Eric's body burst into flames. The flames disappeared and Eric stood there with his head down.

"Why didn't he transform?" Kirito asked. Eric looked up, he had a white mask with red markings on it.

"I did transform, just not into the skull reaper." Eric said in a much deeper voice.

"Ha! How's that supposed to scare me?" Faiadrodo asked.

"Like this!" Eric yelled out in a psychopathic tone. Eric grabbed Faiadrodo's sword and ripped it out his chest and started slashing at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo kept dodging.

"That can't hurt me you know!" Faiadrodo shouted.

"Then why are you dodging?!" Eric shouted as he started moving faster and faster. "Unless your sword has constant magic on it making it a magic and sword attack." Eric said as he cut into Faiadrodo's arm, Faiadrodo's hp dropped a little. Eric started laughing like a mad man. "Let's Go!" Eric yelled as lots of other players activated magic attacks and sword skills and charged Faiadrodo.

"You leave me no choice…" Faiadrodo said as he watched Eric run at him. Eric laughed as he jumped into the air. "Eternal Black flames of Hell!" Faiadrodo yelled as black fire shot from his hand towards Eric.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Never dying flames

[Hello guys, remember if you are enjoying this story then make sure to follow and favorite it. Now let's get back to the boss fight! Link Start!]

"You leave me no choice…" Faiadrodo said as he watched Eric run at him. Eric laughed as he jumped into the air. "Eternal Black flames of Hell!" Faiadrodo yelled as black fire shot from his hand towards Eric. Eric was ingulfed by the black fire.

"No!" Sinon yelled as she shot an arrow with an ice skill at Faiadrodo. The arrow hit Faiadrodo's hand freezing it. The fire disappeared and Eric fell to his knees on the ground, his mask gone. Eric slowly stood up as his hp kept dropping.

"Once hit by that fire you never stop burning." Faiadrodo said.

"I need someone to focus all effort on healing me with magic." Eric said.

"I got you." A random guy said, he sent a healing spell at Eric. Eric tossed Faiadrodo his sword back.

"Bad move child." Faiadrodo said as he ran at Eric while dodging magic attacks. Eric equipped his orange sword and activated a fire spell. Eric and Faiadrodo's swords clashed.

"Now!" Eric yelled. Hunter and Klein was behind Faiadrodo, they both had lighting skills on their katanas. They buried the blades inside of Faiadrodo.

"No!" Faiadrodo yelled as he spun around and slashed at Hunter and Klein. Leafa jumped in front of them and did a shield spell to block Faiadrodo's attack. Eric ran at Faiadrodo.

"Kirito! My sword!" Eric yelled. Kirito tossed Demon blood at Eric, Eric caught it and slammed the blade into the ground, blood chains came out and trapped Faiadrodo in place.

"Magic attacks and skill!" Kirito shouted as everyone pounded on Faiadrodo. The other guy kept healing Eric but had to stop because of no MP.

"I'm out of MP!" The random dude said. Eric's health was green but slowly dropping. Faiadrodo dropped down to the last 2 hp bars. Eric pulled his sword out the ground.

"Everyone stay back, me and Kirito are going to go all out!" Eric yelled as him and Kirito ran at Faiadrodo. "Duel style!" Eric yelled as him and Kirito kept swinging both blades at Faiadrodo.

"Seems like I must step it up." Faiadrodo said as he jumped several feet away. Faiadrodo held his blade out in front of him and started glowing. "I am the sword and the sword is me!" Faiadrodo yelled as his sword melted into white goo. Faiadrodo's armor turned white and the goo jumped onto both of his arms and turned them into giant battle axes. Eric jumped at Faiadrodo, Eric swung both his swords at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo's battle axe hand turned into goo right before Eric cut it, Eric's blades started to into the goo when they solidified trapping his blades in the battle axe. "Now you die!" Faiadrodo yelled as he moved his other battle axe towards Eric.

"Not yet!" Kirito yelled as he blocked the battle axe from hitting Eric. Eric started screaming. Eric kept putting more and more pressure on his trapped blades. Eric forced them to move and it broke Faiadrodo's battle axe. Kirito started slashing Faiadrodo's other battle axe till it broke. Faiadrodo's hands returned to normal and his sword reformed.

"Fine, I'll have to go all out for real then." Faiadrodo said.

"Enough of your crap!" Eric yelled as he ran at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo disappeared and reappeared behind Eric, Faiadrodo stabbed Eric in the chest. Eric dropped to his knees. Asuna had to quickly use a healing spell to keep Eric from dying. Kirito was running at Faiadrodo when Faiadrodo pointed his hand at Kirito. Red light started forming in Faiadrodo's palm, it shot out like a huge energy beam. Kirito put both his swords in front of him and started pushing through it. "I'm not dead yet!" Eric yelled as he picked up his swords and activated his wings. Eric flew into the air and kept going up until he was out of sight.

"Running… what a shame." Faiadrodo said as he stopped the energy attack. Kirito was huffing and puffing while his swords were smoking. Hunter snuck up on Faiadrodo and stabbed him in the back. Faiadrodo went to go slash Hunter but Silica came and blocked the sword with her dagger. Klein cut Faiadrodo's arm, and when Faiadrodo went to counter attack Lisbeth blocked it with her mace. Hunter, Silica, Klein, and Lisbeth backed away from Faiadrodo. An arrow hit Faiadrodo's feet and trapped his lower body in ice.

"I won't let you dodge his attack." Sinon said as she readied a second arrow.

"Who's?" Faiadrodo asked.

"MMMMIIIIIIINNNNEEEEE!" Eric yelled from above. Faiadrodo looked up and saw Eric flying downwards at him, his swords pointing in front of him, he was spinning and had a red aura around him.

"NO!" Faiadrodo yelled as he broke out of the ice.

"Nice try!" Sinon yelled as she shot the second arrow at him. Faiadrodo dodged the arrow but Kirito was able to stab Faiadrodo and keep him in place.

"What are you doing?! You will also get hit!" Faiadrodo shouted as he started punching and stabbing Kirito.

"I-I know, but you will still get a chunk of hp taken out of you!" Kirito yelled. Faiadrodo started laughing as he stopped attacking Kirito. "What's so funny?" Kirito asked.

"This." Faiadrodo replied. Faiadrodo moved with lots of speed and force and grabbed Kirito and chucked him into the air at Eric. Eric was barely able to dodge hitting Kirito and aimed at Faiadrodo again as he neared him. "You dodged that well, but you're done for." Faiadrodo said as he held out his sword at his side. Faiadrodo stopped Eric's spinning blade attack with his sword, Faiadrodo put force into his blade and sent Eric stepping backwards. "Goodbye pest." Faiadrodo said as he swung at sword at Eric.

'I'm still off balance! I can't dodge!' Eric thought. Sinon jumped in front of Eric. "No!" Eric yelled as Sinon got cut with the blade, Sinon's health dropped into yellow.

"Not my main target, but still a pest." Faiadrodo said as he slapped Sinon and sent her flying towards the edge of the roof. Eric flew past her and caught her before she went off the roof. Both of their HP's were in the red. Sinon held up a HP potion.

"Drink it." Sinon said.

"No you need it." Eric said.

"Because of that fire your HP is always dropping, take it." Sinon said. Eric drunk it and it restored him to green. Eric put Sinon on the ground.

"Stay here, Asuna come heal her!" Eric yelled. Asuna started to run over to where Eric and Sinon was but Faiadrodo started to try and stop her. Faiadrodo punched at Asuna but Kirito blocked the punch with his sword. Suddenly Faiadrodo felt his helmet being broken.

"How?!" Faiadrodo shouted. Eric had moved behind Faiadrodo and shattered the helmet using his demon blood sword.

"Everyone swarm him!" Eric yelled. Almost every player who had a sword ran at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo defeated them all with ease, only getting hit a few times, but it was enough to get him done into red on his last bar.

"Get ready for my attack pattern change." Faiadrodo said as his eyes glowed yellow. Eric, Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, Hunter, Klein, and Silica stood in front of his with their blades. Faiadrodo ran towards them. Faiadrodo went past everyone and went straight for Eric and Kirito. "You two will be my first victims while at full power." Faiadrodo said as he slashed Kirito. Kirito's HP dropped while Faiadrodo gained the same amount of HP Kirito had lost. "I gain the life steal power when my pattern changes." Faiadrodo said as he cut Eric. Eric and Kirito had to start blocking really fast, but Faiadrodo's speed had greatly increased. Hunter stabbed at Faiadrodo. "Nice try little boy." Faiadrodo said as he caught Hunter's Katana with his fingers.

"HAAAA!" Eric yelled as he stabbed Faiadrodo's back.

"Cousin double team time!" Eric and Hunter yelled in sync. Eric and Hunter moved all around Faiadrodo while blocking and attacking.

"I was going to save the trash for last but I shouldn't be lazy." Faiadrodo said as he moved like lighting and stabbed Hunter in the head dropping his HP to zero and raising Faiadrodo's HP greatly. Faiadrodo went and killed everyone expect Eric, Kirito, Sinon, and Asuna. Faiadrodo went to go cut Asuna but Kirito and Eric blocked him. "I'm back to my 3rd bar, even though I can still take damage by swords do you really think you can beat me now?" Faiadrodo asked as he stepped back.

"Eric your HP is almost out and Asuna has no MP left and we are out of health potions." Kirito said as he noticed Eric's HP dropping down to yellow.

"Then it's safe to say I will die, might as well die taking this guy head on." Eric said as he started walking towards Faiadrodo, but that walk soon turned into a full speed charge.

"You only have a few minutes left to live and you want to throw it away right now? I'll be happy to help with that." Faiadrodo said as he ran at Eric.

"Eric!" Sinon yelled. Eric threw his Demon blood sword over near Sinon. Sinon picked it up.

"Use it! Help Kirito and Asuna win this thing!" Eric yelled as Faiadrodo's blade went through his chest. Faiadrodo's HP started to rise.

"Hahahaha! You wanted to help your friends but all you did was give me more HP!" Faiadrodo shouted with a laugh.

"Really?" Eric asked his HP was dropping.

"Huh?" Faiadrodo asked. Eric stabbed Faiadrodo. Eric ripped himself off Faiadrodo's blade and started cutting Faiadrodo rapidly.

"I will take you down a few notches!" Eric yelled as him and Faiadrodo exchanged blow after blow, for every 1 attack Faiadrodo got in Eric was able to strike 3 times. Eric and Faiadrodo stabbed each other at the same time. Eric smiled as his health hit zero and he broke into the digital triangles.

"That kid was awesome, I'll give him that." Faiadrodo said as his HP dropped into the yellow of his last bar. Eric's soul just hovered in the air watching the fight. Sinon yelled as she stabbed Demon blood into Faiadrodo's chest, Kirito thrusted both his blades deep into Faiadrodo's skull, Asuna slashed Faiadrodo's body. They all jumped back as Faiadrodo's HP started to drop, it stopped at a sliver of health. "I can't believe you guys did this good, but it doesn't matter because Ragnarök is going to happen, it has to happen." Faiadrodo said as his HP started to rise.

"What?!" Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon shouted. Suddenly his HP was full again and Eric respawned at full health.

"Eric!" Sinon yelled as she ran over to him.

"How are you back?" Kirito asked as him and Asuna went over to Eric.

"The cardinal system sent me a message…" Eric replied.

"Wait what?" Asuna asked.

"It said that ALO has a virus in it, because of laughing coffin. In order to beat Faiadrodo we have to basically never stop hitting him till he is dead, if we take even a second to rest or heal he will restore himself." Eric said.

"That still doesn't explain how you are back though." Sinon said.

"Well The cardinal system ain't to fond of having a virus It can't get rid of by itself to it needs us to finish this guy." Eric explained.

"And it brought you back to life to help with that." Kirito said. Eric nodded and opened his inventory and started going through it.

"What are you looking for?" Asuna asked.

"The system gave me a new weapon." Eric said as he pulled out a sword, it looked like Kirito's Excalibur only it was red instead of gold. Eric gave Sinon his orange blade and took back his Demon Blood. "Demon blood plus Cardinal's rage!" Eric yelled as both his swords started to glow. Kirito's swords started to glow as well. "Ready?" Eric asked Kirito.

"Yeah!" Kirito answered as him and Eric charged Faiadrodo.

"Bring it on." Faiadrodo said as Kirito went in front of Eric and started slashing at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo created a second white sword and started using both. Faiadrodo and Kirito's swords were interlocked with each other, it was down to pure strength. "I am stronger!" Faiadrodo yelled as he started pushing Kirito back.

"NO! You are not!" Kirito yelled as he started putting even more strength pushing Faiadrodo back. Eric jumped over Kirito's head and landed behind Faiadrodo.

"Huh?" Faiadrodo asked.

"Don't take your eyes off me!" Kirito shouted as he slashed his sword knocking Faiadrodo back and onto the ground. Eric slammed each of his swords on each of Faiadrodo's arms. Kirito started slashing Faiadrodo up. Eric pulled his swords out and made Faiadrodo stand up.

"Tag team combo!" Eric and Kirito yelled as they started slashing Faiadrodo rapidly with blinding speed. A giant sign appeared in the sky saying a multi-hit combo was happening, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, the sign went past 300 hits.

"We need a break! Switch!" Eric yelled. Eric and Kirito jumped away breaking their 425-hit combo, Asuna and Sinon rushed in and kept attacking Faiadrodo, not giving him a chance to heal. "We got him back down into his last 2 health bars, but I'm exhausted." Eric said.

"Same, But that's why we switched." Kirito said. After a few minutes of Eric and Kirito catching their breaths they switched back out with Asuna and Sinon. Eric and Kirito was trashing Faiadrodo.

"Enough!" Faiadrodo yelled as he found an opening and was able to cut Kirito knocking him to the ground. Faiadrodo kicked Eric's legs out from under him.

"Crap!" Eric yelled as he jumped to his feet and kept slashing at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo was starting to be able to block. Kirito tried coming up behind Faiadrodo, but Faiadrodo moved causing Eric and Kirito to bump into each other. Faiadrodo's HP started to rise again. "Not this time!" Eric yelled as him and Kirito activated their wings and flew full speed at Faiadrodo. Eric and Kirito slashed Faiadrodo so bad he was sent flying to the other side of the roof. Eric and Kirito got over there and started swinging at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo was starting to block and counter attack way more often.

"I'm starting to figure out ya'lls fighting style." Faiadrodo said as he cut both Eric and Kirito at the same time while dodging their attacks. Asuna and Sinon came out of nowhere and caught Faiadrodo off guard.

"What about us?" Asuna asked as she stabbed Faiadrodo 25 times before jumping back.

"Yeah, figure us out yet?" Sinon asked as she ran past Faiadrodo cutting him. Faiadrodo smiled.

"Not quite, but the only real threats are those 2 Spriggans." Faiadrodo replied.

"Well we are a threat." Eric said as he slashed Faiadrodo's back.

"But all of us are a threat for you!" Kirito yelled as he moved in front of Faiadrodo and stabbed him. Faiadrodo laughed as his HP got really low.

"We shall see." Faiadrodo said as he flew up into the air.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Good-Bye Ragnarök

Faiadrodo hovered in the air. "Not so fast!" Eric yelled as he activated his wings and took to the sky after Faiadrodo.

"Yes come at me." Faiadrodo said with a laugh.

"Gladly!" Eric roared as he started swinging wildly at Faiadrodo. Faiadrodo blocked a few hits and was to slow to block others. His HP was slowly dropping. "I need to strike harder!" Eric shouted as he picked up the speed and power of his slashes. Eric started aiming at where he was slashing. Faiadrodo started flying away, Eric flew after him.

"I will be defeated, I can see it now." Faiadrodo said as he landed on the ground. Eric landed on the ground and was closing in on Faiadrodo. "So I'll just bring you with me." Faiadrodo said as he swung his sword at Eric, Eric swung with the same pace and strength. Right before Faiadrodo and Eric's swords touched Faiadrodo's sword turned to goo and allowed Eric's sword to go right through it and when it was past the goo reformed into the sword.

'Crap! He can't block but now neither can I!' Eric thought as he tried pulling up his other sword but he wouldn't make it in time. Eric closed his eyes and felt his sword dig into Faiadrodo and heard him burst into triangles, But Eric's HP wasn't dropping.

"You can open your eyes now." Sinon said. Eric opened his eyes and saw that Sinon was standing next to him and had the sword she was using extended in front of him and it had caught Faiadrodo's sword.

"Whew, thanks for saving me." Eric said with a laugh.

"No problem, and here's your sword back." Sinon said as she handed Eric his orange sword back. Eric took it and smiled.

"We did it guys." Kirito said as him and Asuna stepped next to Eric and Sinon.

"Ragnarök self-destruction in 5 minutes." The computer announced as all the players bodies revived and was on the ground.

"Oh no, they were revived but they are offline meaning they will die when Ragnarök disappears, quick text the others to get online and send a message across the game forums!" Eric shouted. Asuna started sending messages while Eric, Kirito, and Sinon activated their wings. The three of them picked up some players and started flying back through the caves towards the portal. After 3 minutes many players were online and helping carry other players to safety, and while people could leave Ragnarök through the portal the other side of the portal wouldn't let people in. Kirito and his friends were standing in front of the portal. "There's just over a minute left and still 2 players left at the castle, I'll go save them." Eric said while breathing heavy.

"You're tired, I'm gonna come with you and help." Kirito said.

"Sinon, Asuna, Hunter, Silica, Klein, Lisbeth, and Leafa ya'll should go through the portal just in case we don't make it in time." Eric said. Klein, Lisbeth, and Leafa went through the portal and after Kirito talked to her Asuna went through the portal too.

"I'm sorry bro, you know I would help you, but I want to keep my stuff and not chance death." Hunter said.

"I know dude, go and be safe." Eric said with a smile as he gave Hunter a thumbs up. Hunter and Silica jumped into the portal, but Sinon stayed.

"I'm not gonna leave you, if you die so do I." Sinon said. Eric walked over to Sinon and hugged her. "W-What are you doing? We should not waste time, we need to go save those players." Sinon said. Eric lifted her off the ground and walked towards the portal. "Oh no! Don't you dare!" Sinon yelled trying to get away from Eric.

"Sorry, but I don't want to have to worry about you." Eric said as he let go of Sinon and gently pushed her through the portal. "Welp she's gonna kill me." Eric said as him and Kirito activated their wings and took off towards the castle.

"You did what you thought was best to protect her." Kirito said.

"Yeah, but now I got to worry about what she's gonna do to me because of it." Eric said with a gulp. Kirito just laughed. Eric and Kirito reached the castle and grabbed the 2 last players and took off back to the portal. "Time's running out! And my wings are almost timed out!" Eric shouted.

"Then we should go as fast as we can!" Kirito yelled. Kirito and Eric flew as fast as the game would let them and got through the portal at the last second. Eric and Kirito stood up on the ground as everyone around cheered.

"Ragnarök's over." Eric said with a smile. "Hey, where's Sinon?" Eric asked as him and Kirito walked over to the others.

"She already logged out, she looked mad." Hunter replied.

"Welp then I guess I should log off as well, bye." Eric said as he walked to the nearby hotel and logged off. Eric sighed with his eyes closed as he laid on his bed not even bothering to take off his amusphere. 'What a rough battle.' Eric thought. Suddenly Eric felt his amusphere get pull off, he opened his eyes and Sinon sat his amusphere on his bedside table.

"H-Hey Asada, me and Kirito saved those two guys and made it out alive, that's great right?" Eric asked nervously. Sinon punched his arm.

"Never pull that crap again got it?" Sinon asked as Eric rubbed his arm.

"Yup, got it, understood." Eric replied.

"But thanks for looking out for me." Sinon said as she hugged Eric.

'A punch in the arm is a small price to pay for a hug.' Eric thought with a smile. Sinon stopped and sat on his bed.

"Well Ragnarök's over now, ALO Is safe for the time being." Sinon said.

"So it seems." Eric said as he sat up on his bed.

"And it's still the weekend so we don't have school tomorrow." Sinon said.

"I have a sudden craving for some baked goods, I'm gonna walk to the nearby bakery." Eric said as he got out of his bed.

"Oh, get me something to?" Sinon asked as she watched Eric stepped to the door.

"Of course." Eric answered with a smile before walking downstairs and leaving the house. Sinon left his room and went to the living room to watch some TV. After a few minutes the door bell rung. Sinon paused the TV and opened the door. Two guys stood there, they were both tall. One had long purple hair, black eyes, a tattoo on the underside of his left wrist of a snake eating itself, he was wearing blue jeans, black shoes, and had a dark purple jacket with it's hoodie up. The other one had short spikey black hair, dark blue eyes, and he was wearing camo pants, brown boots, and a red T-shirt.

"I'm sorry we must have the wrong address." The guy with purple hair said.

"He might live here, just cause a girl answered the door doesn't mean anything. You know he might have a friend over or something." The black haired one said.

"Does Eric live here?" The purple haired one asked.

"Uh… yeah." Sinon answered.

"See?" The black haired one said.

"Well that's surprising." The purple haired one said.

"There a problem here gentlemen?" Eric asked as he stood behind them.

"Yeah there is, you didn't tell us you had a friend over." The purple haired guy replied as he turned around. Eric's eyes went wide.

"I didn't think ya'll would get here until a few more days." Eric said with a smile. "Welcome to Japan, Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Jason." Eric said. "How about all of us head inside?" Eric asked.

"Yeah sounds good." The black haired guy said. All of them went inside.

"Asada this is my uncle Jimmy." Eric said as he pointed to the black haired guy. "And that's uncle Jason." Eric said as he pointed to the purple haired guy.

"Nice to meet ya'll." Sinon said.

"Nice to meet you too." Jimmy said.

"What's your WIFI password?" Jason asked as he took out his laptop. Eric told him the password and got everyone a glass of water.

"So where are you two gonna stay?" Eric asked.

"Well we found a nice hotel to stay in." Jimmy answered.

"Good, Later on we can discuss the important stuff. But for now I wanna relax." Eric said.

"Alright, well me and Jason are gonna go settle into the hotel." Jimmy said.

"sounds good, bye." Eric said as they left.

"What important stuff?" Sinon asked as Eric grabbed the bag from the bakery.

"Well it's not really that important, I just label it like that. It's nothing really." Eric lied. 'I hate not telling her, but if she knew she might try to stop me from doing it. Laughing coffin must pay! I'm sorry Asada but I can't tell you yet, not until I know laughing coffin ain't a problem no more.' Eric thought as he handed Sinon some of the snacks he bought.

"If you say so." Sinon said. 'He is hiding something. But what?' Sinon asked herself in thought. Eric's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Eric asked.

"Hey man, are you and Asada busy tomorrow?" Kirito asked.

"Asada, are we busy tomorrow?" Eric asked. Sinon shook her head no as she ate some snacks. "Nope." Eric replied.

"Cool, wanna join me and Asuna for a double date at the waterpark?" Kirito asked.

"…sure." Eric said.

"We are doing it tomorrow, can you come pick me and Asuna up at about 6:00am?" Kirito asked.

"Why that early?" Eric asked kinda shocked.

"That way we don't have that much of a line." Kirito answered.

"Makes since, at least make it easy on me and have her at your house ok?" Eric asked.

"Deal man, see you tomorrow." Kirito said.

"See you tomorrow." Eric said before ending the call.

"What did he want?" Sinon asked.

"We're going to have a double date with Kirito and Asuna at a waterpark tomorrow, that ok?" Eric asked.

"Of course." Sinon said with a smile.

"We should go to bed kinda early tonight, we're going to pick them up at 6:00am." Eric said.

"Alright." Sinon said. Eric's phone rang again.

"Hello?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, mind if me and Jason come over tonight?" Jimmy asked.

"I guess not, why though?" Eric asked.

"Well the whole hotel is being bug sprayed so we need to crash there for the night." Jimmy answered.

"Alright, ya'll can use my second guestroom." Eric said.

"Thanks, be there later." Jimmy said before hanging up.

"Now what?" Sinon asked.

"The hotel is being bug sprayed so Jimmy and Jason are crashing in the other guestroom tonight." Eric explained.

"Oh." Sinon said. Eric and Sinon went about the day like usual, and at 9:00pm Sinon went to bed. At about 11:22pm Sinon woke up after a nightmare. "I-I need a glass of water after that." Sinon said as she shook her head. She opened her door and went downstairs to find Jimmy and Eric at the table playing some type of card game and Jason on the couch typing away on his laptop. "Eric?" Sinon asked. Eric put his cards down and looked at her.

"Hey Asada, what you doing up?" Eric asked.

"I had a nightmare that's all, just coming to grab a glass of water." Sinon replied. Eric walked over to Sinon and hugged her.

"Alright well if you need anything let me know, I'll be up for a bit." Eric said.

"Thanks, what card game are you and Jimmy playing?" Sinon asked as Eric went and sat back down.

"Yu-Gi-Oh, It's an anime about a card game and a real card game." Eric answered.

"Wow, can I watch?" Sinon asked.

"Sure." Eric said. Sinon pulled a chair next to Eric and sat down, she saw in his hand he had some brown cards, purple cards, and one green card.

"These are monster, trap, and spell cards." Eric said as he noticed Sinon looking at them. Sinon just smiled and nodded. "This duel is over uncle jimmy, for I have all 5 pieces of the forbidden one." Eric said with a wide grin.

"Well that was an interesting match." Jimmy said as Eric laid down the 5 cards.

"Totally, hey Asada if you want I'm sure uncle Jimmy would be happy to teach you how to play." Eric said.

"I would love to teach a new player." Jimmy said.

"Well if it's no problem then I wouldn't mind learning." Sinon said as Eric got up and let her sit in his chair.

"Here I'll get you a cup of water and a good starting deck." Eric said as he walked off. Eric walked back after a few minutes holding a cup of water and a deck box. Eric handed Sinon the water and gave the deck to Jimmy, Jimmy shuffled his deck and the starter deck. "I'm gonna go chat with Jason, let me know how ya'll duels turn out." Eric said with a smile before walking to the couch. After Jimmy explained all about the cards and the rules, him and Sinon dueled.

"So if I understand this right I tribute my rainbow fish to summon; Summon Skull and attack your life points directly finishing you off." Sinon said.

"Indeed, you got me beat." Jimmy said.

"Hey Eric, I won my first duel." Sinon said.

"Awesome, what you think of the game?" Eric asked.

"It's really fun, I want to duel you now." Sinon said.

"Oh really?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I'll beat you too." Sinon said with a smile.

"Getting cocky now aren't Ya?" Eric asked playfully as Jimmy got out the chair and let Eric sit down. Eric shuffled both decks and they started the duel. After a few minutes the duel was still going. 'Man she is a natural at this game, my life points are low, but if I can draw the last piece of the forbidden one I can win.' Eric thought with a smirk. Sinon drew her next card and smiled.

"I win." Sinon said.

"Nani?" Eric asked.

"I sacrifice my Giant soldier of stone and Summon skull to bring out Blue eyes White Dragon." Sinon said as she summoned him to the field.

"Oh no." Eric said with wide eyes.

"I attack your monster and destroy it and look at that the leftover damage that goes to your life points is enough to finish you." Sinon said.

"Game over, you win." Eric said with a laugh.

"Well it's been fun but it's really late and we have to be up early so I'm going back to bed, you should do the same Eric." Sinon said.

"I will shortly." Eric said.

"Thanks for teaching me how to play Jimmy." Sinon said.

"No problem, hope to duel again one day." Jimmy said.

"Goodnight everyone." Sinon said before walking upstairs. Eric smiled and stood up and stretched. Jimmy smiled at him.

"Oh not you too." Eric said as he noticed. "Having Kirito on my case is bad enough." Eric said remembering all the times Kirito has messed with him.

"I didn't say anything, but it is late and you should also head to bed." Jimmy said.

"Wow everyone's trying to send me to bed, at least you're on my side right Jason?" Eric asked.

"Go to bed." Jason replied. Eric gasped.

"Fine, I'm not wanted here." Eric said with a laugh. "Goodnight Ya'll." Eric said as he walked upstairs and headed to bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Water park fun

[Hope ya'll are enjoying the story so far, if ya'll are then remember to follow and favorite the story, Link Start!]

Sinon walked into Eric's room and started gently shaking him trying to get him up. "Eric it's 5:20, you need to get up." Sinon said softly. Eric grumbled.

"I was having a good dream, I was fighting the legendary super saiyan." Eric said groggily.

"Well that sounds nice and everything but you should get up so we can eat breakfast and get ready." Sinon said with a laugh. Eric smiled and sat up.

"Right." Eric said. Eric and Sinon walked downstairs, Jimmy and Jason was sitting on the couch watching a movie. "Morning." Eric said before walking into the kitchen.

"Hey if you're still tired I can cook something." Sinon offered.

"That's nice and everything but I think I'm just gonna eat my leftover snacks." Eric said.

"Pass me mine?" Sinon asked.

"Sure." Eric said as he grabbed both bags with leftovers. Eric and Sinon sat at the table and ate their breakfast. "Alright we should go ahead and go grab what we're going to wear for the water park." Eric said as him and Sinon walked away from the table. Sinon nodded and they both went to their rooms. Eric looked through his closet. "Hmm…. Seems I only have 1 pair of swim trunks, they will work." Eric said as he grabbed them. After changing Eric walked downstairs. His swim trunks had a fire pattern.

"Looks like you're on fire Eric." Jimmy said with a laugh. Eric chuckled.

"Ready to go pick up Kirito and Asuna?" Sinon asked as she walked downstairs holding two bags. Eric turned and looked at her.

"Of course it's a sniper." Eric said with a smile as he saw Sinon. Sinon was wearing a one piece swim suit with a sniper picture on it.

"What else would you expect?" Sinon asked with a smile.

"Let's go, bye Jimmy and Jason." Eric said. Eric and Sinon got into the firebird and started driving towards Kirito's house, after a few minutes they arrived. Sinon got out and walked to the door and knocked. Kirito and Asuna came out holding some bags, Kirito was wearing black swim trunks, and Asuna was wearing a red and white swimsuit. Kirito and Sinon both went for the passenger seat.

"Oh, you can sit up front." Sinon said.

"Thanks." Kirito said as he got shotgun, Sinon got in back with Asuna. Eric started driving through the city. "Ok Eric to get there you need to go through the city and past a town into a decent sized town." Kirito said.

"Alright." Eric said.

"Hey Eric, I've been meaning to ask you something." Asuna said.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Why do you have only one spike of orange hair?" Asuna asked.

"You know I've been wondering about that myself." Sinon said.

"Well spill it Eric." Kirito said.

"Ever since I was young I have wanted orange hair, and after years of wanting it I bought orange hair dye. I didn't know how to dye my hair so I only did one spike at first and stopped to see if I did it right. And well it turned out good, but the day I was planning on finishing it SAO was released and I wanted to play it first and… I just never finished dyeing it. I keep one spike as a reminder that I survived the death game." Eric explained.

"Oh." Kirito said. Eric smiled.

"And besides I think it looks cool." Eric said.

"cool? I think cute is a better word." Sinon said.

"Y-You say cute I say cool." Eric said. Sinon just laughed. At about 6:43am they pulled into the waterpark parking lot. They all got out and grabbed the bags and walked to the entrance, and the line was short so they were close to the front. After only about 20 minutes of waiting they were allowed in, they rented a locker and put up their bags.

"Ok so what should we do first?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know about ya'll but I'm gonna hit the lazy river." Eric said as he started walking away.

"Wait for me." Sinon said as she caught up with Eric. Eric and Sinon each grabbed a tube and put it in the water and got in. They started floating down the path. "the morning sun feels so good mixed with the crisp water." Sinon said smiling.

"Indeed." Eric said. 'Only one thing could make this better.' Eric thought with a smirk. Eric waited until Sinon wasn't looking at him, once she looked away Eric kicked the floor and propelled himself forward just a little bit. "Asada I'm drifting away, help." Eric said as he pretended to be pushed away by the weak currents.

"Really? You getting pushed by weak waves?" Sinon asked as she looked at him.

"Yes, help." Eric said as he held out his hand and had a dramatic look on his face. Sinon just laughed and grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards her. "Thank you." Eric said with a smile as he held her hand and closed his eyes and started relaxing.

'How did I fall for that?' Sinon thought with a smile, she closed her eyes and started relaxing as well. They drifted along the path for a while, sometimes having people bump into them, Eric felt a float hit his 3 times back to back. Eric opened his eyes to see Kirito in a float.

"Hey." Eric said.

"Asuna wanted me to ask if ya'll wanted to join us over at the rough waves area." Kirito said. Eric looked at Sinon, she was asleep. "Did she fall asleep?" Kirito asked.

"Yup." Eric said. Eric squeezed her hand. "Wake up sleepy." Eric said as Sinon started to open her eyes.

"Sorry, It was just so quite and peaceful just floating." Sinon said as she yawned.

"You wanna join Kirito and Asuna over at the rough waves?" Eric asked.

"Sure." Sinon replied.

"Great, follow me." Kirito said as he got to the exit and left the lazy river, Eric and Sinon followed. They made their way to the rough waves and saw Asuna waiting for them.

"Glad ya'll wanted to join us." Asuna said.

"We've been floating for a bit so." Eric said.

"Hey Eric, wanna have a competition?" Kirito asked.

"I'm listening." Eric said with a grin.

"Who can last the longest in the 6ft deep area during the rough waves." Kirito said.

"You're on." Eric said. Eric and Kirito walked into the water and went into the 6ft area and waited for the waves to come.

"Boys." Sinon said while shaking her head.

"Well at least they are enjoying themselves while doing it." Asuna said.

"That's true." Sinon said. The waves started and Eric and Kirito had a technique down, when the wave comes jump.

"I won't lose." Eric said as he started going deeper.

"Me neither." Kirito said as he went deeper as well. The waves got super rough and it hit Eric and pulled him under and into the 7ft deep area.

'Shoot! I have to try to get out, I can't swim!' Eric thought with wide eyes as he started trying to run underwater to get back to the 6ft area. But waves kept coming and pulling him back in before he could get to the area.

"Eric?" Kirito asked as he was swimming on the surface. Kirito looked into the water and saw Eric sitting down in the 7ft deep area with an annoyed face. "What is he doing?" Kirito asked himself.

'Well if I can't swim out I'll just have to sit here until the waves stop.' Eric thought. After about 2 minutes the waves stopped and Eric was able to get back to the 6ft area, when his head popped out the water he took lots of breathes.

"You ok man?" Kirito asked as he stood next to him.

"The waves pulled me into deep, and I forgot I can't swim." Eric replied.

"How do you forget that?" Kirito asked.

"I dunno." Eric said. Eric and Kirito walked back over the girls.

"Have fun drowning over there?" Sinon asked.

"Haha." Eric replied.

"I wanna go down that slide." Sinon pointed at a water slide. Eric, Asuna, and Kirito looked at the slide, it was super high.

"T-That things the height of a freaking S-skyscraper!" Eric said with panic in his voice.

"Wait, don't tell me. You can't swim and you don't like heights." Sinon said.

"Yeah that's about it." Eric said.

"Well there's no time like the present to over come a fear." Sinon said as she grabbed Eric's arm and started dragging him towards the slide.

"Kirito help me." Eric said.

"Sorry I wanna go down it myself so." Kirito said as him and Asuna started walking to the slide with them. After about 13 minutes of waiting in line Sinon, Eric, Kirito, and Asuna made it to the top.

"Alright, lay on your back and keep your arms crossed and on your chest." The lifeguard said.

"Right, I'll be waiting for you Eric." Sinon said as she slid down the slide. Eric gulped.

'If I survive.' Eric thought. The lifeguard got the single that the slide was clear.

"Alright man you're up next." The lifeguard said looking at Eric.

'Just think like Vegeta.' Eric thought as he got on the slide. Eric slid down, Eric almost screamed when he was in the dark area and he was suddenly thrust into the light and hit with water before a steep drop. Eric landed in the pool at the bottom of the slide. Eric got out and walked over to Sinon.

"Well?" Sinon asked.

"That was fun, but never again." Eric replied.

"Well at least you tried it." Sinon said smiling at him. A couple of minutes later Kirito and Asuna finished the slide and the four of them split up, Asuna and Sinon went back to the rough waves, Eric and Kirito went to the tube slide.

"Let's get a team float." Eric said.

"Right." Kirito agreed. Eric and Kirito grabbed a float that had two seats. After only a few minutes of waiting they were at the top. Eric and Kirito put the float on the slide and they got in and went down the slide. After a few times of doing that Eric and Kirito started walking towards the rough waves area.

"I dunno man, between Ragnarök and laughing coffin I've been so stressed." Eric said.

"I know, but that's why we're here, to relax." Kirito said. "And besides if you're wanting to relax me and Asuna can go do some slides and stuff while you and Asada get back to the lazy river." Kirito said.

"Yeah that sounds good." Eric said. Kirito and Eric got to the rough waves and saw Asuna standing in the 3ft deep area while Sinon was in the 5ft area.

"Hey, want to go hit some slides?" Kirito asked.

"Sure." Asuna replied.

"Great, that way Eric and Asada can go hold hands and relax in the lazy river." Kirito said with a grin. Kirito and Asuna quickly started walking away as fast as they could.

"K-Kirito! Tch!" Eric said with his face red. "I should have seen that coming." Eric said as he waded into the water. "Hey Asada, wanna go back to the lazy river?" Eric asked.

"Of course, it's so nice and relaxing." Sinon replied.

'Just do it.' Eric thought, Eric sighed and smiled. Eric grabbed Sinon's hand and started leading her back to the lazy river. Sinon's face turned red and she just smiled. Eric and Sinon got back into the river and went back to floating.

"Kirito, wanna invite the others?" Asuna asked as her and Kirito sat down at some tables and order some soda.

"Sure, you should text them and see who's gonna come." Kirito said.

"Alright." Asuna said as she took out her phone.

"This is so nice and relaxing." Sinon said as her and Eric floated.

"Yeah." Eric agreed.

"I have a question." Sinon said.

"Yeah?" Eric asked.

"Why do you always seem to protect me?" Sinon asked.

"uh, well…" Eric said. "I guess it's because I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Eric replied.

"well as long as you're around I'm sure nothing bad will happen." Sinon said smiling at him. Eric smiled. "I'm getting a bit hungry, wanna go find Kirito and Asuna and get some lunch?" Sinon asked.

"Sure." Eric replied. Eric and Sinon got out the lazy river and went and found Kirito and Asuna at the tables. "Wanna order some lunch?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, p.s. we invited the others." Kirito replied.

"Got it." Eric said. The four of them went to the waterpark pizza shack and ordered the food. "Alright ya'll can go back to the table, I'll bring the food when the chef finishes." Eric said.

"I'll stay behind and help." Kirito said.

"Alright, we'll be waiting." Asuna said, Asuna and Sinon went back to the table.

"Soooo….." Kirito said. Eric looked at him. "You enjoy the lazy river?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah it was wonderful, I love to just kick back and relax." Eric replied.

"but I want to ask you something." Kirito said.

"What?" Eric asked.

"When you gonna man up and ask Asada out?" Kirito asked. Eric turned red and started stuttering.

"It could be a while, after all Eric I so slow about that kind of stuff." A boy's voice said from behind Eric.

"So you two are here now." Kirito said.

"Hunter… it's not nice to ease drop." Eric said as he turned around and saw Hunter and Silica.

"We've already ordered so ya'll can go ahead, Asuna and Asada are sitting at a table towards the giftshop." Kirito said. Hunter and Silica ordered their pizza and Silica went to go meet up with Asuna and Sinon while Hunter stayed behind.

"Besides I can do it whenever I want." Eric said.

"Really?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah." Eric answered.

"How about now?" Hunter asked grinning.

"now? As in right now?" Eric asked.

"The food's done." The chef said.

'Saved by the food.' Eric thought. Eric, Kirito, and Hunter carried the food back to the table and the 6 of them ate their lunch. "So that's what you two deiced to wear huh?" Eric asked as he noticed what they were wearing. Hunter had a pair of orange swim trunks with a blue strip running across it with sharks in the blue, and Silica was wearing a blue one piece swimsuit.

"Yeah, you know this is my favorite pair." Hunter said.

"Indeed." Eric said.

"Well what shall we do now?" Asuna asked.

"Well after eating I wanna do something relaxing for a bit so I'm gonna go back to the lazy river." Sinon said.

"I'm gonna go hit the surf area." Hunter said.

"Me and Asuna are going to hit the big slide again, right?" Kirito asked.

"Right." Asuna said.

"I'm going to the rough waves." Silica said.

'Shoot I wanna go and join Asada at the lazy river, but me and Hunter do love to do some surf battles.' Eric thought. "I think I might join Hunter for a bit." Eric said.

"We can have a surf battle." Hunter said. Eric grinned and nodded.

"Welp I'll meet up with you later Eric." Sinon said as she smiled and walked off. They all split up to go have fun. Eric and Hunter arrived at the surf area.

"Oh no." Eric and Hunter said in sync with annoyed looks on their faces.

"Not him." Eric said.

"Anyone but him." Hunter said.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Surfs up dude

[What's up everyone? Hope all of ya'll are having a good day/night. Anyway remember if you like this story than follow and favorite it to keep up with the newest chapters. Link start!]

Eric and Hunter stared in disbelief. "Dude… is that the douche surfer guy from the US?" Eric asked.

"Y-Yeah, I can't believe even in Japan we can't get away form him." Hunter said with a sigh. Eric and Hunter stood in line. Right in front of Eric and Hunter in line was a tall, muscular, blonde surfer. He turned around and saw Eric and Hunter, he grinned when he saw them.

"Hello there nerd, I see you brought your bodyguard with you." The surfer said while looking at Hunter.

"Bodyguard? I ain't no bodyguard." Eric said.

"Really? So I can beat the crap out of him and you won't attack me?" The surfer asked.

"Try it." Eric said smirking. The surfer went to go punch Hunter, but Hunter dodged and Eric elbowed the surfer in the side.

"Ah! I thought you wasn't a bodyguard." The surfer said.

"I'm not, I'm just his cousin." Eric said with a dark smile.

"And I haven't forgot what you did to me Darrel." Hunter said.

"Yeah yeah, I beat you. But I haven't messed with you." Darrel said as he pointed to Eric.

"you're right, you're Hunter's problem. But thing is I already don't like you. Hunter told me all about you." Eric said.

"Next three people in line come grab a board please." The lifeguard said.

"Well it seems like the three of us will be surfing together." Darrel said with a laugh. Darrel, Eric, and Hunter went and grabbed a surfboard and got in the water.

"Starting the waves." The lifeguard said. All three of them started surfing.

'They're pretty good, I think it's time I take them out.' Darrel thought. Darrel started surfing close to Eric. Eric grinned as Darrel got closer to him.

"If you think you can make me wipe out by using cheap tricks you might as well go ahead and leave now." Eric said.

"I would never try something like that." Darrel said with a fake smile.

"Well I hope not, because I'm about to be wide open." Eric said. Eric put his hands on the board and lifted his feet off the board and into the air.

'He is really surfing with a handstand? And he is wide open!' Darrel thought as he quickly surfed in front of Eric, creating ripples in the water. Eric gripped the sides of his board and pulled it into the air with him and started spinning and twirling in the air. Eric put his feet back on the board and landed back on the water and continued surfing like nothing happened.

"I told you, won't work." Eric said. Darrel was speechless. Hunter surfed close to Eric.

"Nice one, you left him searching for words." Hunter said.

"Good, maybe the next words he'll find won't be douchey." Eric said as him and Hunter got to the end of the ride. "Well after that I'm gonna go hit some rides." Eric said.

"I'll go join Silica." Hunter said as he left. Eric started walking towards a water slide. Eric heard someone running towards him and ducked in time to see someone try to punch him. Eric moved to the side and got ready, he saw Darrel.

"If I can't beat you in surfing I'll just beat the pulp out of you." Darrel said as lifeguards started to gather.

"If you think you can best me in hand to hand then come at me." Eric said. Darrel ran at Eric. The lifeguards started yelling stop but Eric put his hand up signaling them to hush. Darrel kept punching at Eric but Eric always dodged.

"Stop dodging you chicken!" Darrel yelled as he punched at Eric. Eric caught his fist and grinned.

"Ok, I'll fight back." Eric said as he punched Darrel in the chest and let go of his fist and kicked him and he fell on his back. Darrel got up slowly. "Alright, come take him away." Eric said. Two lifeguards came and grabbed Darrel, but he ripped his arms from their hold and ran at Eric.

"I'm going to get you for this!" Darrel yelled as he started punching and kicking at Eric.

'Crap, this ground is wet and slippery, if I keep dodging I'm gonna fall.' Eric thought as he flicked Darrel's head and made him back up. Hunter, Silica, and Sinon came up behind Eric.

"We heard yelling, What's going on?" Hunter asked.

"Darrel thinks he can take me on." Eric replied.

"Be careful." Sinon said.

"I'm going to be just fine." Eric said as he started walking towards Darrel.

"I'll trash you if it's the last thing I do!" Darrel yelled as he ran at Eric. Eric went to go move but he stepped on a real bad slippery spot and slipped a little but managed to keep his footing, but since he was distracted Darrel was able to punch Eric square in the face. Eric stumbled back as Darrel laughed.

"You know, if you were smart you would have kept attacking." Eric said.

"No way…" Darrel said as he noticed Eric's face looked just fine, not even a scratch. Sinon went between Eric and Darrel.

"Stop it, just give yourself up to the lifeguards." Sinon said as she pointed at Darrel. Darrel started trying to walk past Sinon but she kept blocking him. "Stop fighting, Eric is to strong for you." Sinon said.

"She's right, I'd listen to her." Eric said.

"Out of my way!" Darrel yelled as he pushed Sinon back, she started to slip and fall. Eric grabbed her and made sure she was fine.

"Thanks Eric." Sinon said.

"Go stand with the others." Eric said. Sinon walked over to Silica and Hunter. "Now you've gone to far." Eric said as Darrel neared him.

"Whatever." Darrel said as he punched at Eric. Eric caught the fist and pulled Darrel close to him. Eric placed his hand on Darrel's back and pushed him onto the ground. Darrel hopped up just to have Eric punch him in the nose knocking him back to the ground. "I-I think you broke my nose!" Darrel yelled as he clenched his nose that was now bleeding.

"Good." Eric said. "Take him away before I do a lot worse." Eric said looking at a lifeguard. A few lifeguards grabbed Darrel and pulled him away.

"You ok Eric?" Sinon asked.

"No, he got my body ready for a fight, but in the end he wasn't even a warm up." Eric said. "But nothing be done about that, I'm gonna go hit some slides." Eric said as started walking, Sinon followed him. "You coming with me?" Eric asked.

"Yup, gotta make sure you don't get into trouble." Sinon replied smiling. Eric smirked. Eric and Sinon got to a water slide, this water slide had the slide covered in a tube so when you slide down it would be pure black. The line was short so after only a few minutes It was Eric's turn.

"Alright man, lay back and keep your arms crossed on your chest." The lifeguard said.

"Right." Eric said as he laid back and crossed his arms. The lifeguard pushed Eric down the slide. 'Whoa this thing is really dark, like I thought there would be some light but no.' Eric thought as he was sliding really fast. Eric saw a faint light growing bigger. 'Oh wait there's the light.' Eric thought. Eric slid right out the tube and landed in a pool, Eric poked his head out the water. "That was awesome." Eric said as he got out the pool and waited for Sinon. After a minute Sinon came out the slide and landed in the pool, she got out and walked over to Eric.

"That was super cool." Sinon said.

"yeah, what you wanna do next?" Eric asked.

"The tube slide." Sinon replied. Eric and Sinon started making their way to the tube slide and along the way Hunter and Silica joined them.

"Hey wanna do a team float?" Hunter asked Eric as the four of them made it over to the tube slide. Sinon grabbed Eric's arm.

"Sorry he's taken right now." Sinon said as she grabbed a team float. Eric and Sinon got in line. Even thought they couldn't see his face Hunter and Silica knew Eric was smiling.

"You wanna get a team float?" Hunter asked Silica.

"Sure." Silica replied as they grabbed the last team float, they got in line behind Eric and Sinon. After a while it was Eric and Sinon's turn. They sat on the float and slid down. Afterwards Hunter and Silica slid down, everyone met up at the lockers.

"Well it sucks that the others couldn't join us." Kirito said.

"Well I guess this could be counted as a triple date then." Eric said.

"You're right." Kirito said.

"Well it was fun but it's already 3:43, we should leave." Hunter said. Hunter and Silica grabbed their stuff and left. Sinon tapped Eric on his arm.

"Hm?" Eric asked as he looked at her.

"Wanna go to the lazy river for a few minutes before we go?" Sinon asked.

"Hey Kirito, mind if we stay a couple more minutes?" Eric asked.

"Sure, me and Asuna we be at the giftshop and tables." Kirito said as him and Asuna walked towards the giftshop. Eric and Sinon made their way to the lazy river, they grabbed the floats and got in.

"There's like no one else on the lazy river right now." Sinon said as she looked around.

"That just means I don't have to worry about little kids bumping my float." Eric said with a sigh as he closed his eyes.

"You can't talk, you also bumped into people." Sinon said.

"Tch… they probably deserved it or something." Eric said in a defeated tone. Sinon giggled, Eric smiled. They floated for a couple of minutes.

"Ok, I think we should go, don't want to keep the others waiting." Sinon said.

"Ok." Eric said. Eric and Sinon met up with Kirito and Asuna and they grabbed their stuff and got into Eric's firebird. "Alright I'll drop ya'll back off at your house." Eric said as he looked at Kirito.

"Right, thanks." Kirito said. Eric dropped Kirito and Asuna off and headed home, once there Eric unlocked the door and Eric and Sinon noticed that Jimmy and Jason was gone.

"Their hotel must be done bug spraying." Eric said as he shut the door.

"Yeah." Sinon said as she sat on the couch.

"I'm gonna go change, I'll be back." Eric said as he walked upstairs. Sinon got out her phone and started playing some apps. Eric came back downstairs wearing a T-shirt and shorts. "I'm going to the gym." Eric said as he grabbed the car keys.

"Can I come?" Sinon asked.

"… I guess." Eric replied.

"Don't worry I won't make you stop a match this time." Sinon said as she ran upstairs. Eric waited for her and she came down wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

"Let's go." Eric said. Eric drove to the gym and Eric and Sinon went inside.

"Eric, hey man." Mac said as he walked up to Eric.

"Sup." Eric said as him and Mac did a high-five. "I'm here for a good fight." Eric said.

"Well if you want a tough challenge, that Kcuhc Sirron fellow is here." Mac said.

"Where?" Eric asked.

"At the benches." Mac replied. Eric ran off, a few minutes him and Kcuhc came back.

"I'll be back I gotta go to my locker." Eric said as he went to the locker room. Eric came back with his water.

"Ready for our match?" Kcuhc asked.

"Yeah." Eric said. Eric and Kcuhc got in the ring and started fighting.

"I have a question." Sinon said.

"What is it little lady?" Mac asked.

"Who do you think will win this fight?" Sinon asked.

"Well If Eric takes it seriously he will most likely win, but he ain't taking it seriously yet." Mac said.

"How do you know if he holds back or not?" Sinon asked.

"Me and Eric have talked quite a bit and I've learned a few things about him, like you know you're done for if he takes his shirt off, when Eric comes here he wears a specific shirt." Mac said.

"I noticed it looks the same as the one he wore last time we wear here, why's that one special?" Sinon asked.

"It is a weighted shirt, it slows him down." Mac answered.

"Oh." Sinon said as she watched the match unfold.

"You know what Kcuhc." Eric said.

"What?" Kcuhc asked.

"I'm going to finish this real quick." Eric said as he took off his shirt and tossed it on the ground, it made a thud.

"Whoa I heard that thud from here, how heavy is that shirt?" Sinon asked.

"Eric says it's about 15 pounds, that's why he only wears it here." Mac said.

"Even if he only wears it here the strain that must put on his body." Sinon said. Mac just nodded.

"So it's weighted huh?" Kcuhc asked.

"Yeah." Eric said. Eric ran at Kcuhc.

'He's way faster than last time, is that shirt really that heavy?' Kcuhc thought as he had to block a barrage of fists. Eric did a sharp kick upwards hitting Kcuhc's chin and sending him towards the other side of the ring. A little blood was on the ring floor. Kcuhc rubbed the blood off his chin and stood up. "That was quite a powerful hit." Kcuhc said as he moved towards Eric slowly.

"That was a warning, give up now or I might hurt you very bad." Eric said.

"Nope." Kcuhc said.

"So the fun way it is." Eric said smirking. Eric ran at Kcuhc. Eric dodged Kcuhc's kick and move to his side. "Bang!" Eric yelled as he jabbed Kcuhc in the side with his elbow. Kcuhc grunted and started to step to the side but Eric was already behind him. "Bang!" Eric yelled as he slammed his fist into Kcuhc's back. Kcuhc stumbled forward.

"Eric's doing it." Mac said.

"Doing what?" Sinon asked.

"His 16 shot technique, it's a ridiculous name but still." Mac replied.

"That sounds like something Eric would name it, what's it do?" Sinon asked.

"Well Eric yelled Bang and strikes his opponent with very powerful, very quick, attacks. He does that 15 times, but for the last one he always does the same thing." Mac said.

"What?" Sinon asked.

"You're see, he's at his 10th bang now." Mac said. Sinon looked back at the match. Eric was still moving just as fast, while Kcuhc looked like he was having a hard time standing.

"Bang!" Eric yelled as he pounded Kcuhc's chest with his knee. After a total of 15 bangs it was time. Kcuhc was coughing up some blood, Eric was standing in front of him. "Bang." Eric said calmly as he walked towards Kcuhc.

'He's hit me in my joints a few times, I'm hardly able to stand much less dodge.' Kcuhc thought as Eric stood right in front of him. Eric grabbed Kcuhc's arm and used all his strength to throw Kcuhc into the air. Eric grabbed Kcuhc's leg from midair, Eric slammed Kcuhc down on the floor. "I-I give up." Kcuhc said between pained breathes. Eric picked up his shirt and put it back on and hopped out the ring.

"You ok?" Sinon asked.

"Just fine." Eric replied.

"Well done." Mac said.

"Thanks." Eric said.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A **Sin**_ic_ Confession

[What's up everybody? Hope everyone is doing well. Remember if you enjoy the story you should follow and favorite it. Link Start!]

Sinon woke up and looked around her room. "What time is it?" Sinon asked herself as she checked her phone. It was 12:43. 'It's already past lunch time, why didn't Eric wake me up?' Sinon thought. Sinon left her room and heard music coming from the backyard, she walked out and saw that on the picnic table there was a radio playing Super Massive blackhole by Muse. Eric was hitting a punching bag he had hanging from a tree. "Hey." Sinon said as she paused the music.

"Good afternoon sunshine, nice of you to wake up." Eric said as he continued hitting the bag.

"You should've woke me up." Sinon said slightly annoyed.

"I tried, but you wouldn't wake up." Eric said as he took a break. "Well anyway you must be hungry, want me to cook you something before I go?" Eric asked as he grabbed a towel and wiped some sweat from his face.

"Sure, wait where are you going?" Sinon asked.

"Me and Kirito are going to hit the gym." Eric replied as him and Sinon stepped into the kitchen.

"Oh ok, don't overdo it." Sinon said.

"I won't." Eric said as he opened the fridge. Eric cooked Sinon some lunch and then left to go meet up with Kirito.

"I see you brought a friend Eric." Mac said as Eric and Kirito walked in.

"I can't get anything past you huh Mac?" Eric asked with a smirk.

"Well I'll leave you boys to it." Mac said as he walked off to tend to some of the other people.

"Follow me." Eric said. Kirito followed Eric into the locker rooms, and after they put on some boxing gear they went to an empty ring. "Alright let's start out slow and build up speed and power over a couple of minutes." Eric said as he threw a couple of slow, weak punches at Kirito, Kirito dodged with ease.

"So what are we going to do about Laughing coffin?" Kirito asked as he kicked at Eric.

"Well first we need to find out where the leader is, then we take him out and get info on the others." Eric replied as he caught Kirito's leg and pulled him off balance.

"Ok got it." Kirito said as he quickly regained his balance.

"Kirito as much as it pains me to ask you." Eric said. 'Especially since you'll just love to mess with me about this as well.' Eric thought. "Do you know any good spots for I dunno, a date?" Eric asked as he knocked Kirito's legs out from under him.

"Ouch nice move, and Ohhh wanting to go on a date with Asada are you?" Kirito asked with a snicker as he got up and dodged Eric's punch.

"Just answer the question." Eric said as he punched Kirito in the side. Kirito quickly got up and kicked Eric in the chest, Eric stumbled back.

"Well there is a nice park that has a walking trail that looks amazing at night." Kirito said as he tried to hit Eric but failed.

"Which park?" Eric asked.

"I'll text you the location of it." Kirito said as he again tried to punch Eric but missed.

"Thanks man." Eric said as he kneed Kirito in the chest and pushed him back.

"Y-Yeah no problem." Kirito said as he gripped his chest.

"I guess I hit to hard, sorry." Eric said.

"No it's fine, I can't expect Laughing Coffin to hold back." Kirito said.

"Indeed." Eric said. After about 2 hours at the gym Eric left and headed back home. Eric walked up to his room and laid on his bed and took out his phone, Kirito had texted him the park location. Sinon poked her head into Eric's room.

"Glad to see you're back." Sinon said.

"It's good to be back." Eric said.

"Well I'm gonna go watch some tv in the living room." Sinon said as she started to walked away.

"Wait a sec." Eric said.

"Yeah?" Sinon asked as she looked at him.

"Do you wanna go to a park later tonight?" Eric asked.

"Sure." Sinon said.

"Ok, I'll talk to you later." Eric said.

"Ok." Sinon said with a smile as she walked away.

'That smile… so dang cute.' Eric thought as he started surfing the net on his phone. After awhile Eric grabbed his Amusphere and dove into ALO. Eric waked into a forest.

"Hey." Hunter called out his he ran up to Eric.

"Sup." Eric said. "So why did you call me here?" Eric asked.

"I wanna fight a super tough boss and thought I would try to get your help." Hunter said.

"Sounds fun." Eric said.

"Follow me." Hunter said. Eric and Hunter walked through the forest until they came across a weird looking, run down, old house. "According to the forums this is where it should be at." Hunter said as him and Eric looked around. Suddenly the ground started shaking and the house started to rise and connected to the bottom of the house was two big chicken legs.

"Welp I know who the boss is." Eric said as he backed up.

"Who?" Hunter asked.

"Come on man I've told you this story, house with chicken legs, in a forest." Eric said.

"Baba Yaga!" Hunter yelled as he remembered. Eric and Hunter received a notification that said they could not activate their wings of this battle and they can't leave the game or forest until they die or win. A boss bar appeared for the house, it read Baba Yaga. It had 4 health bars.

"This ain't right." Eric said as he pulled out his demon blood sword.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked as he pulled out a green and blue Katana.

"First off nice new katana, and second Baba Yaga is the old hag not the house." Eric replied.

"Thanks, and true." Hunter said. The house ran at them.

"But I don't care if it's a house or an old hag, Chains still effect both!" Eric yelled as he stabbed the ground with his demon blood. Chains came out the ground and wrapped around the house, but the chains instantly snapped. "Oh Shi-" Eric was cut off by the house kicking him deeper into the forest.

"So I'm guessing that special effects and magic skills don't work." Hunter said as he stabbed the house in it's leg. The house moved and started trying to stomp Hunter. "Fighting this thing is annoying!" Hunter shouted as the house kicked him into a tree.

"Hey!" Eric yelled out as he cut both of the house's legs in one swipe with his Cardinal Rage sword. "Ready for round two?" Eric asked as he cut both legs again with his Demon blood. The house shook and kicked backwards but Eric jumped out the way and ran over to Hunter.

"Good to see you made it back so fast." Hunter said.

"I can't let you have all the fun." Eric said as the house ran towards them.

"Wait Eric, look at the health bars, it hasn't dropped any." Hunter said.

"Wait… That's it." Eric said as him and Hunter dodged more attacks from the house.

"What are you thinking?" Hunter asked.

"In some of the stories Baba Yaga rides in a big cauldron type thing." Eric said.

"You're right, whatever that thing was called again." Hunter said.

"So maybe she's inside the house in the cauldron thing." Eric said.

"So we have to get inside the house." Hunter said.

"Yeah." Eric said as he ran at the house. The house kicked and Eric didn't even try to dodge as the leg hit him and sent him crashing into a tree.

"Eric!" Hunter shouted as he barely dodged the house's attacks. Eric came running back and again when the house kicked at him he didn't dodge. Eric kept doing this over and over again. "Eric stop! Your HP is getting low!" Hunter shouted as he jumped out the way of the house's charge. Eric's HP was in the red.

"It doesn't matter anymore, because I know what I need to know." Eric said grinning as the house switched target from Hunter back to Eric.

"Get out the way!" Hunter yelled as the house neared Eric.

'I've got to time this just right or else I'm dead.' Eric thought. "Hunter when I give you the signal you need to run up the leg." Eric said as the he was almost in striking distance of the house.

"What's the signal?" Hunter asked as he started running over to Eric.

"You'll know it when you see it." Eric said as the house pulled back it's leg. Hunter's eyes widen as the kick neared Eric and he was still not moving. '3…2…1… Now!' Eric thought as he jolted forward and to the side of the leg.

"Move! When it brings the leg down from the air it will crush you!" Hunter shouted. The leg came crashing down towards Eric, he smiled innocently. But right before the leg hit him Eric's innocent smile turned into an arrogant grin as he used both his swords to block the leg. 'Wait, Eric's trapped the leg in a sudden position. A ramp-like position!' Hunter thought.

"Now! I can't hold it for long!" Eric yelled out bringing Hunter back from his thoughts.

"Right!" Hunter shouted as he jumped onto the leg and started running up the leg.

"What's wrong? Can't crush me so easily?" Eric asked as he felt the house try to put more force downwards onto him. Hunter jumped up off of the leg and landed on the porch of the house.

"I'm there Eric!" Hunter yelled out.

"Good! End this!" Eric yelled as he felt his strength give out and let the leg fall back and hit him, it knocked him away far into the woods.

"Eric sacrificed himself to make sure I could get up here to end it… I won't fail." Hunter said as he walked into the house.

"That was a smart tactic from such unwise fools." An old woman's voice said from the shadows.

"Show yourself!" Hunter shouted. An ancient witch stepped out, she had blueish winkled skin, sharp teeth, and a black witch robe. Hunter took one look at the witch and stepped back.

"What's wrong dearie? Does my yellow eyes terrify you?" Baba Yaga asked with a grin.

"Eric was right, old hag." Hunter said with disgust.

"How dare you insult me!" Baba Yaga shouted.

"I'll finish this quickly." Hunter said as he started walking towards Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga grabbed a staff that had a bull skull mounted on the top of it. "I'd like to see that stuff block my blade!" Hunter yelled as he brought his Katana down towards Baba Yaga, her staff blocked it with no effort. Hunter gasped with shock as he stepped back.

"My house is just to beat unworthy opponents, I am the real boss after all." Baba Yaga said as she thrust her staff at Hunter, the bull skull rammed into his chest knocking him to the ground. Hunter tried to get up but Baba Yaga kept whacking him in the head over and over again. Hunter rolled over and was able to get up and shoot past Baba Yaga. "Your struggles are hopeless and impractical." Baba Yaga said as she ran at Hunter. Hunter jumped onto a table and dodged Baba Yaga's charge.

"Magic skills don't work against your house, but you are just a hag!" Hunter shouted as he activated a flame skill on his katana. Hunter stabbed Baba Yaga and ducked as she tried to counter attack by slinging her staff around. "Have a nice trip!" Hunter yelled as he activated a wind spell on his katana and slashed Baba Yaga's feet causing her to fall to the ground. Hunter activated an ice skill. "I do hope you'll stick around, after all this is a cool house." Hunter said smirking as he stabbed Baba Yaga's chest, her HP dropped to red on the final bar. Ice came out the ground and kept Baba Yaga pinned to the ground.

"Did you close the door dearie?" Baba Yaga asked with a wicked smile.

"No…" Hunter replied confused.

"When entering a house you should remember to close the door behind you." Baba Yaga said.

"Wait I got to be careful about your pattern change." Hunter said as he backed up. The house started to shake and run around. "Whoa!" Hunter yelled as he grabbed a table to keep from flying around the room. Suddenly the table broke and the house jerked forward causing Hunter to fly right out the door and land on the ground where the house started stomping him repeatedly. After Hunter's HP dropped to red the house backed up and Baba Yaga jumped out and walked over to Hunter who was stuck in the ground.

"Well I hope you learned your lesson, not that you'll be able to use it when you're dead." Baba Yaga said as she readied her staff.

"How about I teach you a lesson." Eric said as he walked behind Baba Yaga.

"Hu-" Baba Yaga was cut off by Eric digging his sword into her back.

"I'm grouped in with people that are normally called psychos or sociopaths, and you got to double tap us. We are almost unkillable, we can get hit by trucks and still live." Eric said as Baba Yaga dropped to her knees.

"Eric how are you alive?" Hunter asked as he got up.

"I just explained it, besides that attack didn't kill me it just knocked me down to roughly 1 hp." Eric replied. The house started to charge at them. "Hunter I'll keep this house busy, you finish the hag." Eric said.

"Right." Hunter agreed. Eric leaned down to Baba Yaga.

"By the way I hope you enjoyed the free lesson, though I doubt you'll need it when you're dead." Eric said mockingly. Eric stood up and started attacking the house and dodging the kicks.

"Goodbye Baba Yaga, please Don't come again." Hunter said as he stabbed her and depleted her remaining hp, she burst into triangles. Right before the house was about to kick Eric it also burst into triangles. Eric and Hunter got a notification saying the battle was over and they won, Hunter got a mystery box.

"What's in the box?" Eric asked.

"It's a familiar item." Hunter said. "It's armor for Colada." Hunter said.

"Cool, well I need to be logging out now." Eric said.

"Alright man, and thanks for all your help." Hunter said.

"You know you can always count on me." Eric said with a smile before he logged out. Eric took off his Amusphere and checked the time. It was 9:17pm. "Whoa that boss battle took forever." Eric said. Eric got up and walked downstairs to find Sinon sitting on the couch watching TV and playing on her phone. "Hey, you ready to go to the park?" Eric asked.

"Yeah sure." Sinon said.

"Wanna go now?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Sinon said as she cut the TV off. Eric and Sinon got into the firebird and Eric followed the directions to the park that Kirito had given to him, and after about 10 minutes of driving they pulled into the parking lot. "Whoa this park is so amazing at night." Sinon said as they got out the car. Eric checked his phone and saw a new message from Kirito telling him about a really nice part of the park that he should take Sinon.

"Hey Asada, wanna go for a little walk with me?" Eric asked as he pointed down a trail.

"Sure." Sinon said as she walked beside Eric.

'I wanna do it, but my heart rate is going too fast even just thinking about it.' Eric thought. After walking for just a few minutes Eric and Sinon came across a stunning area, there was a grassy hill with a great view of a pond that had blue lights and fountains in it.

"It's so beautiful." Sinon said as her and Eric laid down on the hill and looked out at the pond.

"Not as beautiful as you." Eric said smiling at Sinon. Sinon smiled at him.

"Smooth." Sinon said.

"I got something I want to tell you." Eric said.

"What?" Sinon asked.

"The real reason I look out for you so much and try to make you happy is, because I like you Asada." Eric said turning red.

"R-Really?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah." Eric said.

"I'm so happy to hear you say that, because I like you to." Sinon said as she snuggled close to Eric. Eric smiled.

'hmm…. I wonder…' Eric thought. Eric stood up, Sinon stood as well. "Asada I want to ask you something." Eric said.

"What is it?" Sinon asked.

"C-Can I kiss you?" Eric asked turning bright red.

"S-Sure." Sinon replied turning the same shade as Eric. They leaned towards each other until their lips met. Eric's eyes shut, Sinon's eyes were wide open at first but soon shut. Eric wrapped one arm around Sinon's waist and used his other hand to slowly run his fingers through her hair. Sinon wrapped both her arms around Eric's neck. After a couple of minutes they backed up. Eric stumbled a little. "You ok?" Sinon asked as she grabbed his arm.

"Y-Yeah, but if my heart beats any faster I swear it will jump out and start running around screaming." Eric replied. Sinon giggled.

"Well I'll take that as you enjoyed it." Sinon said.

"Sure did." Eric said as his blush was just starting to fade. Eric and Sinon laid back down on the grass, Sinon wrapped her arms around Eric and they just laid there together for a while.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Common cold

[Hello guys, hope everyone is doing good today/tonight. And I wanna do a few chapters of the real world and some ALO and soon some GGO battles and stuff before getting into any real big events in the story. Remember if you like the story then favorite and follow it. Link Start!]

Eric and Sinon walked into Kirito and Asuna's house. "Ya'll are in ALO kinda early." Kirito said.

"Yeah well I was up early and Sinon got up so we thought we would see if anyone else was on." Eric explained.

"Yeah me and Asuna just got on not to long ago." Kirito said.

"Hey Sinon, can you help me in the kitchen?" Asuna asked.

"Sure." Sinon replied. Asuna and Sinon walked into the kitchen, Eric sat on a chair next to the couch Kirito was sitting on.

"You look tired, everything alright?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, just didn't get back home till late last night." Eric replied with a yawn.

"Oh yeah I forgot, how'd the date at the park last night go?" Kirito asked.

"It was great." Eric replied turning red.

"Anything happen?" Kirito asked with a smirk.

"Nothing that concerns you." Eric answered with his own smirk.

"Fair enough." Kirito said with a laugh. "Say, when the girls get done in the kitchen wanna see about hitting a boss or two?" Kirito asked.

"Sure, I'm always up for a good battle." Eric replied. After a few minutes Asuna and Sinon came out of the kitchen and agreed to go do a few battles. Soon they arrived at a barren desert.

"There should be a giant worm boss here." Kirito said. They all stood on top of a rock.

"I'm gonna hop down and look for a spawner or something." Eric said as he jumped off the rock. Eric only got a few feet away before the ground started to shake and a boss bar for Terramor the deadly appeared.

"Eric get over here quick!" Sinon yelled. Eric turned and ran back towards the rock.

"Look out!" Kirito yelled as the ground behind Eric started to break. A message appeared on their screens; Wings are disabled for this fight, to leave simply win/lose or walk out of the desert.

"Sh-" Eric was cut off by a giant worm-like monster breaking the ground beneath his feet causing him to drop underground. Suddenly Terramor headbutted Eric and it sent him into the air and crashing onto the surface of the ground. Terramor was gone, but his boss bar was still active. Eric stood up and started to run towards the rock again. But just like last time the ground behind Eric shook and Terramor jumped out and hit Eric with it's side and sent him crashing into a different rock a few feet away. Terramor disappeared back underground. Kirito started to get off the rock but stopped when he noticed Eric slowly shaking his head.

"Vibrations in the ground attract it." Eric whispered. But the whisper was just loud enough for Terramor to pin point his location. Terramor burst out the ground and opened his mouth and went to go eat Eric. "Nice try!" Eric yelled as he slammed his demon blood into the ground, the signature blood chains came out and trapped Terramor. Kirito and Asuna rushed off the rock and started trying to slash Terramor while Sinon shot arrow after arrow at him. But Terramor's scales was to hard and none of the attacks did anything. "G-Guy's I'm almost out of MP, get back to the rock fast." Eric said as his MP was nearing 0. Kirito and Asuna was able to get back onto the rock time Eric's MP hit 0, Terramor rushed back underground as Eric ran to the rock and got helped up onto it by Kirito and Sinon.

"How do we fight this thing?" Asuna asked.

"It's belly. That's the only thing I can think of." Eric replied.

"Here." Sinon said as she handed Eric a MP restore potion.

"Thanks." Eric said before drinking it. "I can stand on this rock and active the demon blood sword while ya'll go and attack him." Eric said.

"No, let me do it since I have more MP in total than you do." Sinon said.

"Alright." Eric said as he handed Sinon his sword. Eric pulled out his Cardinals rage sword. "I'll lure him out, time he breaks the surface activate the chains." Eric said. Sinon nodded. Eric hopped onto the ground and started running away from the rock. Soon Terramor jumped out of the ground and into the air, time she saw this Sinon stabbed the demon blood sword into the rock and blood chains came out and trapped Terramor. Kirito and Asuna was next to Eric within a few seconds. The chains had caught Terramor just right and his belly was exposed.

"You were right Eric; the belly has no scales." Asuna said.

"Nice thinking." Kirito said.

"Thanks, now let's end this quickly." Eric said. Eric, Kirito, and Asuna started stabbing and slashing Terramor's belly quickly. After a minute of none stop attacking Terramor was in the red on his last health bar, and Sinon still had a little MP left.

'I have enough MP to give them time to finish th-' Sinon was brought out of her thoughts by the urge to sneeze really bad. Sinon tried fighting it but sneezed and broke into a mini coughing fit, causing her to accidently release her hold on the sword meaning the chains broke. Eric didn't know if it was possible but he could have sworn that he saw Terramor's weird mouth brake into a wicked smile, that "You're so dead." Smile. Eric, Kirito, and Asuna tried to dodge but were to close, Terramor was able to wiggle all around and hit all of them with it's hard scales on his sides. Asuna and Kirito hopped onto different rocks but Eric stood on the ground.

"Eric move!" Kirito shouted.

"I got it." Eric said as he equipped his orange blade sword and duel wielded it with his Cardinals rage. Eric stomped his foot on the ground causing Terramor to leap out and try to eat him again. Eric swiftly dodged and dragged both his swords from the underside of Terramor's mouth all the way down to it's tail tip. Terramor let out an otherworldly scream and shattered into triangles.

"And you didn't think to do that sooner?" Kirito asked as him and Asuna got off the rocks.

"Sorry." Eric said with a nervous laugh. Eric remembered Sinon and quickly ran to her. "You alright?" Eric asked.

"Y-Yeah, my throat just started acting up. I'm sorry I let go." Sinon said.

"It's ok, what matters is you're ok and we won." Eric said as he picked up his Demon blood sword and unequipped all his swords. Sinon coughed. "We should get to a hotel and log off." Eric said.

"I'm fine really." Sinon said. Eric just stared at her. "Fine I can see you don't want to budge." Sinon said giving in. Eric smiled.

"Good." Eric said. Eric and Sinon said their goodbyes to Kirito and Asuna and went to a hotel and logged off. Sinon took off her Amusphere just in time to here knocking at her door.

"Come in." Sinon said fighting a cough. Eric walked in.

"how are you feeling?" Eric asked.

"Just peachy." Sinon replied with strain in her voice. Eric walked over to her and put his hand on her forehead.

"Um yeah then why does your forehead feel hot? And why does your voice sound strained?" Eric asked. Sinon coughed. "We must have stay out to late tonight and the cool air must have caused you to get a mild cold." Eric said. "Sorry, I should have had us come back sooner." Eric said.

"It's ok, last night was fun." Sinon said flashing him a smile.

"I'm gonna go fix you some soup and come sit with you to make sure you get better quick." Eric said as he walked out. Eric went downstairs and made some soup and took it to Sinon. Eric handed her a food tray with a soup bowl and a glass of water. Eric sat down on the floor next to her bed.

"Thanks for the soup and drink, but you should go. I don't want you getting sick because of me." Sinon said.

"I don't mind getting sick if it means making you feel better; besides I have a good immune system." Eric said.

"But still I wouldn't feel right if you get sick because you wanted to take care of me." Sinon said.

"And I already told you I don't care about getting sick." Eric said. Sinon went to go try to talk Eric out of it but he stood up and bent over to her. Eric quickly and softy kissed Sinon. Eric stood back up. "There, now if I get sick it's my fault." Eric said with a smile.

"Y-You find a loop hole alright." Sinon said with a blush.

"Yes I did, not eat up. I'm gonna go grab a chair and my phone." Eric said as he walked out. After a few minutes Eric brought a fold out chair in and put it next to Sinon's bed. Eric sat down and started looking at videos on his phone while Sinon looked over his shoulder and watched with him. After about an hour of them watching videos Eric stood up. "You should try to get some sleep, I'm gonna go to the store and pick up some cold medicine and cough drops." Eric said. Sinon nodded and rolled over to try and sleep. Eric drove to a shopping center and walked to the pharmacy. Eric looked around but in the end had to ask the employs where the cold medicine and cough drops were. Eric bumped into Hunter while shopping for a few quick supply's. "Oh Hey." Eric said.

"Hi, what you doing?" Hunter asked.

"Just coming for some cold stuff for Sinon. And figured I would pick up a few things I've been needing." Eric replied.

"Ah, well tell her I said get better soon." Hunter said.

"Will do, I'll try to call you later." Eric said.

"Alright man, see Ya." Hunter said as he resumed his shopping. Eric payed for the stuff he bought and drove back home to find Sinon sitting on the couch drinking OJ.

"What are you doing up?" Eric asked as he set the bags down.

"I was only asleep for a few minutes before my throat started hurting." Sinon said hoarsely.

"Sorry, I would have gotten back sooner but I ran into Hunter and we chatted for a second. Try to not talk to much." Eric said as he handed Sinon a cough drop. Sinon put it in her mouth and watched Eric as he took out a box of cold medicine and put it on the coffee table. "You need to take that when you get up and when you go to sleep." Eric said. Sinon nodded, Eric walked into the kitchen and put up a few things he bought. Eric sat down next to Sinon. "I'll put some TV on so you can relax." Eric said. Sinon smiled and snuggled close to Eric. After a few hours of TV Sinon was asleep on the couch. Eric carefully got up and walked outside. Eric took out his phone and called Jason. "Hey." Eric said.

"Sup." Jason said.

"I think it's time for some recon, you feel like having a steak out?" Eric asked.

"Is there gonna be internet?" Jason asked.

"Yup." Eric said.

"You can come pick me up." Jason said.

"On my way." Eric said as he ended the phone call. Eric picked up his keys and left a note for Sinon saying he was going to be out for a few. Eric pulled up int front of the hotel that his uncles were staying at. Jason was already waiting for him, he got in. Eric started driving through the town.

"In a hurry?" Jason asked as he noticed Eric was going slightly faster than the speed limit.

"I'm not worried, you know I'm a good driver. I can Tokyo drift blindfolded and still nail it perfectly. And we do need to get there while he's there." Eric replied.

"You do have some driving skill. He?" Jason asked.

"Since I stabbed Laughing coffin's leader in the eye I figured he must need an eye patch for a while. So I posted a flyer online looking for shady people with eye patches." Eric said.

"For real?" Jason asked.

"Of course not, I've kept my ear to the ground and heard that laughing coffin goes to a coffee shop for the free WIFI." Eric replied. "And stake out was a bit over kill, cause really only thing I need you to do is hack the WIFI and copy all laptop info and sift through it and find laughing coffin." Eric explained.

"Then just drop me off, I need to do a few things in town anyway." Jason said.

"Got it." Eric said. Eric dropped Jason off at the coffee shop and drove back to the house to find Sinon still asleep on the couch. Eric walked upstairs and grabbed his pillow and some covers and made a make-shift bed on the floor and passed out. Eric woke up to the sound of loud thunder. Eric yawned and heard that it was raining super hard and it was beginning to storm really bad. Sinon tapped Eric on his shoulder. "Oh it woke you up too?" Eric asked. Sinon nodded. "Well if there was anything I could do to make it stop I would. But I can't control the weather." Eric said. Sinon nodded. "Just try to get more rest, I'll be up for a bit now so let me know if you need anything." Eric said. Sinon grabbed his arm and pulled him softly. Eric laid on the couch next to Sinon. "Better?" Eric asked. Sinon nodded and closed her eyes. Eric smiled and felt himself getting tired. Before he knew it Eric was out cold. In the morning Eric woke up to gentle poking on his arm. "Need something?" Eric asked and he opened his eyes to see Sinon trying to wake him. Sinon pointed to her belly. "Want more soup?" Eric asked with a yawn. Sinon nodded. Eric stood up and walked into the kitchen and threw a big pot of soup on the stove. After about 30 minutes the soup was done and Eric fixed two bowls of soup and gave one to Sinon. They sat on the couching eating soup and watching anime together. After they finished eating Eric laid on the floor and grabbed his Amusphere. "I'm gonna dive and do a few things, just message me if you need anything." Eric said. Sinon smiled and waved at him. Eric smiled back and dove into ALO. Time Eric spawned in his hotel room he noticed it, a shadow hiding in the closet. "Who's there?" Eric asked as he stood in front of the closet while holding his demon blood sword. A werewolf burst out the closet and started attacking Eric. "Whoa!" Eric said as he easily dodged and slashed the werewolf repeatedly. Eric ran his blade through the werewolf's chest and brought it's health to 0. Eric stabbed it a few more times but it was still alive. "This must be an NPC with a mandatory quest." Eric said as he unequipped his sword. "Meaning If I can beat it than I'm not supposed to beat it." Eric said as the werewolf bit him on the arm. "Well this is w-" Eric was cut off by the werewolf tossing him out the window. Eric crashed onto the ground. "W-Well." Eric said as he felt himself blacking out.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The system can talk

[Hiya everyone, hope ya'll are doing well. Remember to follow and favorite the story if you want to see more. Link Start!]

Eric woke up on the ground outside the hotel. "Oh my head." Eric said as he rubbed his head. The werewolf was standing above him, it put out it's hand. Eric grabbed it and the werewolf helped him up. "So you bite me and toss me out a window than decide to help me?" Eric asked. The werewolf nodded. "Great I'm dealing with a Bipolar Werewolf." Eric said with a sigh.

"I'm the cardinal system." Cardinal said. Eric's jaw dropped.

"Than I'm dealing with a Bipolar Cardinal. Just great." Eric said with a chuckle.

"You want to defeat laughing coffin. Am I correct?" Cardinal asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied getting serious.

"Because they infected me with a virus I now know the location of their base in the real world." Cardinal said.

"Tell me." Eric said.

"I'll get the exact location and message it to your account. But be careful." Cardinal said. Cardinal disappeared.

Eric went back into the hotel and logged out. Eric lay on the floor thinking. 'Thank you so much cardinal. With the location I can get the guys together to attack laughing coffin.' Eric thought. 'I can end this forever.' Eric thought as he sat up.

"Back already?" Sinon asked. She was sitting on the couch looking at him.

"Yeah, throat feeling better?" Eric asked as he stood up.

"Much better." Sinon replied with a smile.

"Good, well you can talk some but I don't want you to overdo it ok?" Eric asked. Sinon smiled and nodded. 'I'm going to end it to make sure that her and everyone else is safe.' Eric thought.

"What's wrong?" Sinon asked as she noticed Eric was more serious and slightly more worried than normal.

"Oh nothing." Eric replied trying to fake a smile. Sinon stood up and stared into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sinon asked again. Eric gulped.

'I can't tell her the truth because either she would talk me out of it or she would want to come. And I can't risk either.' Eric thought. Sinon hugged him.

"It's ok if you don't want to talk about it. Just know that I'm here if you want to talk about anything big or small." Sinon said as she hugged him tightly. Eric smiled.

"Thank you. I want to tell you, but I think it's best if I don't." Eric said.

"I trust your judgement." Sinon said as she backed up.

'That makes one of us.' Eric thought. "Anyway I'm gonna head out to meet up with Kirito and stuff. Need or want anything?" Eric asked.

"Something good to eat tonight would be nice." Sinon answered.

"Homemade cooking or take out?" Eric asked.

"Either." Sinon replied.

"I'll stop by the store on the way home to pick up something to cook." Eric said. Sinon smiled. "Call me if you need anything." Eric said as he started to leave.

"Bye, be safe." Sinon said.

"Bye." Eric said giving her a thumbs up. Eric walked outside and got into his firebird and took out his phone, he dialed Kirito.

"Hello?" Kirito asked as he picked up.

"Yo, you busy?" Eric asked.

"No." Kirito replied.

"Than meet me at the hotel my uncles are staying at." Eric said

"text me the address, and why?" Kirito asked.

"It's about laughing coffin." Eric answered.

"….. I'll be there as soon as I can." Kirito said before hanging up.

Eric dialed Hunter. "dude you busy?" Eric asked as Hunter picked up.

"Nope, why?" Hunter asked.

"How would you like to help me, Kirito, Jimmy, and Jason take out laughing coffin?" Eric asked.

"I wanna hear more about this." Hunter replied.

"Meet me at the hotel that our uncles are staying at." Eric said before hanging up. Eric started to drive off towards the hotel. After driving for a while Eric pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. Eric stepped out and waited by the entrance.

"I'm here." Kirito said as he walked up to Eric.

"Good, now we're just waiting for Hunter." Eric said.

"And that will be a short wait." Hunter said as he walked up to them.

"Then let's go." Eric said. Eric lead they way with Kirito and Hunter following him. They took the elevator up to the 4th floor and walked over to the room that Jimmy and Jason were staying in. Eric knocked on the door. Jimmy opened it.

"From the serious looks on ya'lls faces I'd say you're here about laughing coffin." Jimmy said. They nodded. "Then come right on in." Jimmy said as he stepped aside to let them in. They walked in and Kirito and Hunter sat on the couch. Jason was sitting in a chair next to the couch.

"Eric, I couldn't find out much from that café." Jason said as Eric stood in the center of the room. Jimmy say on the couch.

"That doesn't matter anymore." Eric said. Eric cut on his phone and lifted it into the air. "Thanks to the cardinal system inside ALO I have the exact address of laughing coffins real world base." Eric announced. Everyone stared in shock. "I don't know about ya'll but I for one don't want to wait any longer. I want to end this now." Eric said.

"What's our plan of attack?" Hunter asked.

"Jason I need you to hack into laughing coffins network from the inside to get proof of their evil deeds, Jimmy you will go with him to make sure he gets there and there is no interruptions, I'm gonna call Klein and together with Hunter they will watch over Sinon, Asuna, Silica, and Lisbeth." Eric explained.

"What about us?" Kirito asked.

"Kirito I need you to keep the guys off me while I go for the leader." Eric replied.

"What are you going to do?" Kirito asked even though he already had an idea of what Eric would say.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard for everything he has done." Eric answered.

"… I don't think death is the answer, but I will go along with your plan as long as I don't have to kill anyone." Kirito said.

"If it goes right the only person that will die is the leader, and that will be at my hands. You guys may need to beat some guys up but whether or not you kill them is up to you." Eric stated.

"That works for me." Hunter said. Jimmy and Kirito nodded.

"So we need weapons." Jason said.

"Use whatever works best for ya'll. I need a sword and a Glock 9." Eric said.

"I'll use some training swords since I don't want to kill." Kirito said.

"Well text me a list of stuff and give it to ya'll when it goes down." Eric said.

"Oh yeah, when is it going down?" Jimmy asked.

"2 days from now, 10:00pm near the entrance to the base." Eric replied.

"So soon?" Hunter asked.

"I want to end this before they try to hurt anyone else." Eric answered.

"That makes since." Kirito said.

"Alright well everyone text me the weapons needed and we shall meet again at the spot I text ya'll." Eric said before walking out. Kirito and Hunter followed. Eric was driving back home till he remembered he need to stop at the store, he pulled into a parking lot of a store. Eric walked in and started looking around. Eric's phone started ringing. "Yello?" Eric asked as his picked up.

"E-Eric it's me." Sinon replied in a stressed tone.

"What is it?" Eric asked. Eric waited but didn't hear anything. "Hello?" Eric asked.

"Sorry, Asada can't come to the phone right now." A deep voice said.

"Where is she?" Eric asked with anger in his eyes as he recognized the voice, the leader of laughing coffin.

"She's ok for now." The leader replied.

"I'll get you and you will be sorry." Eric said.

"How? You don't even know where I am." The leader said.

"I'll find you somehow." Eric said.

"I doubt that, I'll call you back when I decide I want. I just figured I would call and rub in the fact I kidnapped her. Bye." The leader said in a mocking tone as he hung up.

Eric clenched his phone in his hand. "I'm gonna slaughter him." Eric said with pure rage. An old man coughed nearby and looked at Eric with worry. "What you staring at?!" Eric snapped. The old man walked off. Eric texted everyone the news and the address and told them to meet at his house. Eric rushed back to his house to find his door broken and his house trashed. Eric whistled and Cody came running from under the couch, he had busies, and blood dripping from his teeth. "You did your best bro, you at least bit one of them." Eric said as he petted Cody's head. It took a few hours but Eric was able to get all the weapons the team wanted.

"My swords." Kirito said as he picked up hard dull training swords.

"You got the axe." Jason said as he held a large duel side battle axe.

"Why do you want an axe?" Hunter asked as he held a metal baseball bat.

"Because it's cool and unnormal." Jason said.

"Nice." Jimmy said as he held a traditional Japanese sword.

"Hunter go meet Klein and the girls at Kirito's house, keep them safe." Eric said as he slid the Glock 9 into the back of his pants and pulled his shirt down a bit to help conceal it.

"Why are you trying to hide the gun, they're gonna see your sword?" Hunter asked.

"Cause I want them to know I have a sword, but they'll be more careful if they're aware I have a gun." Eric replied.

"Makes since I guess, good luck." Hunter said as he left.

"Let's head out." Eric said. Everyone piled into Eric's firebird. After about 30 minutes of driving they arrived at the laughing coffin base. They all got out and started walking towards the door of an old abandoned looking apartment building. "Remember I don't care who ya'll kill but the leader is mine, and Kirito we're going to save Asada before doing anything else." Eric said.

"Got it." Kirito said.

"Than it's war time baby." Eric said as he took out a grenade and pulled the pin and threw it through the window. It exploded and created a huge hole that they used to walk in. "Since this place is in the middle of nowhere and there is hardly anything around if the police are even on the way we have 15 minutes at least." Eric said.

"Ok so let's not waste any time." Kirito said. Eric saw a security camera and walked towards it and looked into it.

"Guess who." Eric said as he slashed the camera.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Laughing Coffin falls

[Hello guys, this chapter was a bit slower to write than my others because I've gotten a sore throat but I'm finally sitting down to write it, I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving and if you don't celebrate it than I at least hope you had a good day. Without any further ado, Link Start!]

A goon ran from around a corner and tried to jump Eric from behind. "I'm not in the mood for games." Eric said as the threw his fist back smacking the goon in the head knocking him out.

"Eric me and Jimmy are heading downstairs to their computers." Jason said. Eric nodded in agreement.

"Where do you think they are keeping her?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know but we will check room by room and floor by floor." Eric replied. Eric and Kirito saw that the first 2 floors were clear but time they reached the third floor they were ambushed. It was an open space with the only thing being some speakers in the center, a camera, and the stairs leading up and down. In between the boys and the stairs up was many laughing coffin goons. "Listen up! Give yourselves up and your leader will be the only who gets hurt." Eric announced. They all burst out laughing before attacking the boys.

"I can handle them, go ahead." Kirito said.

"You sure?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, remember I got your back bro." Kirito said.

"Thank you." Eric said. Eric started running towards the goons. Eric slashed his way through while any goons that tried to chase after him was attacked by Kirito. Eric made it to the stairs and saw Kirito was holding his own then ran up to the next floor. The fourth floor was the same as the third. "What really?" Eric asked as the goons charged him. Eric tried his best to fight them off but with so many he was eventually beat to the floor. The two remaining goons picked Eric up and held him in front of the camera.

"Are they dead?" The leaders voice asked from the speakers.

"No, I just slashed and beat them till they passed out." Eric replied.

"I think It's time to tell you my name." The leader said.

"Yeah it'd be nice to know the name of the man I'm gonna murder." Eric said.

"aghahahhahahahahaha you are so funny. My name is Dulk." Dulk said.

"Well now I know what to put on your grave." Eric said. Dulk chuckled. "What's so funny?" Eric asked.

"My men have you trapped while I have your friend trapped. You know what that means?" Dulk asked trying not to snicker.

"What?" Eric asked starting to feel his blood boil.

"I can torture her and all you can do is stand there being held by my men while you listen to her screams of pain and suffering." Dulk replied not being able to hold back his laughing.

"Don't you touch her." Eric warned. Eric heard muffled sounds before he heard Dulk remove some duct tape.

"E-Eric." Asada said.

"Asada." Eric said. Asada let out a sharp howl of pain as Eric heard what sounds like a stabbing sound. "Dulk! What did you do?!" Eric yelled.

"Oh I'm just practicing my pumpkin carving skills. I wanna be prepared for Halloween this year." Dulk answered with a chuckle as Asada moaned in pain. Eric felt something in him snap.

"I tried." Eric said in a low tone.

"Huh?" Dulk asked.

"Ever since I was born I've had a slight sociopathic personality, but when I was trapped in SAO and started killing the Pkers I learned what drove people to commit murder….. IT WAS SO FUCKING FUN!" Eric yelled with a twisted smile. Dulk and the two goons were dead quiet. "Sometimes I thought about killing normal players because I was bored of you guys, however I had enough control to stop myself and when I returned to the real world I put that blood lust behind me. Then I met Asada and I knew I had to control the darkness not just for me but for her." Eric continued. "But she's in danger and I already planed on killing you, and if I have to go all murder to get to you then I will. Even if it results in everyone fearing and hating me it at least means she will be safe." Eric said going quiet.

"Well that was quite a speech, if you snapped with that little bit of push I wonder." Dulk said. They was a slight thud and Asada yelled in pain.

"Last chance goons." Eric said. The goons just chuckled. "Ok then I'll have to result to…. KILLING YOU!" Eric yelled as he slammed his arms up freeing himself. Eric turned and punched the goon's noses causing their nose bones to shoot into their brains killing them instantly.

"Now I'll admit I'm worried." Dulk said before cutting of the speakers. Eric just laughed before running up the stairs leaving his sword on the ground. Eric burst into a control room that had Asada tied to a chair.

"Asada!" Eric yelled as he ran to her. She had a few stab wounds and punch marks.

"I-I'm ok." Asada said. Kirito ran in.

"Watch her." Eric said as he ran past Kirito. Eric heard Asada yelling at him but he was so focused he couldn't tell what she was saying. Eric came to a stairwell that said roof. 'Time to end this for real.' Eric thought. Eric lifted his shirt up slightly and took out his Glock9 and grabbed a Magazine from his pocket. "One shot, One kill." Eric said as he dropped 9/10 bullets down the stairs and loaded the last one into the Mag and slid it into the pistol. Eric cocked the pistol and kicked open the door to the roof. "Dulk come out." Eric said as he stood in the center of roof. Eric heard a sound all to familiar to him thanks to GGO, the sound of a shotgun. Eric spun and aimed at Dulk's head.

"Oh you got a real one this time eh?" Dulk asked.

"Yeah, And I'm gonna use it." Eric said.

"Safety's on." Dulk said. All Eric did was smirk.

"Please I loaded it and checked the safety on the way up the stairs." Eric countered. Dulk just stared blankly before laughing.

"Not that easy to get ya huh?" Dulk asked. Eric chuckled before ducking behind a pipe as Dulk moved his hand. Dulk shot at Eric but the bullets was blocked by the pipe.

'Ok maybe dropping my bullets was a move of false bravery.' Eric thought as Dulk closed in laying fire to the pipe. 'Wait I already had a bullet in the chamber so I have 2 chances.' Eric thought with his blood crazy ideas flooding back to him. Time Eric heard the click click sound of Dulk's empty magazine he jumped up and shot at Dulk. Dulk was able to duck and start running before the bullet hit him. Eric ran after Dulk, while running Eric cocked his pistol and loaded the last bullet into the chamber. Dulk slipped and fell down because of the little rocks that the roof was covered in. Eric jumped onto of Dulk and started pistol whipping his face over and over again. "How's that feel you bastard!?" Eric shouted. "That's only a part of the pain you made others feel!" Eric yelled as he rammed the barrel of his Glock9 in the mouth of Dulk. Dulk in a blur was able to strike a nerve in Eric's hand making him drop the gun, Dulk used this chance to kick Eric off him and tried to grab the pistol. Eric wouldn't be beat that easy though as he kicked the pistol away. Eric and Dulk started throwing punches.

"You know I wanted to have you join us for so long but you never wanted to, such a shame." Dulk said with a laugh as he wiped some blood off his face.

"I'd never join you." Eric said as he swept Dulk's legs out from under him. Dulk rolled away and jolted up and round house kicked Eric in the head sending him stumbling back. Eric ran to the pistol and picked it up but Dulk came up behind him and picked him up and threw him towards the edge. Eric got up in time for Dulk to start kicking him in the side repeatedly.

"I'm done messing with you." Dulk said as he picked Eric up by his shirt collar.

"You're nothing but an evil beast." Eric said as he spit some blood into Dulk's face.

"Beast? I'm fully happy being a beast because that means I have nothing to lose nor anything to love or protect, and I can destroy everything other people love until this beast stops working." Dulk said with a laugh as he pushed Eric over the edge. In Eric's eyes time slowed down as he just fell.

'This can't be it, can it?' Eric thought as was getting close to the ground. 'For all of their safety.' Eric thought as he aimed the pistol at Dulk. "Remember this while you burn in Hell; Everything we do as humans has an equal balanced or sacrificial reaction." Eric said as he shot Dulk right between the eyes. Eric started to roll to his side to make sure his back didn't get to damaged from the fall, he hit the ground THUD! It could be heard all around the area. Dulk fell off the roof and landed beside Eric. Eric conjured up every last bit of his power to stand and walk inside the building. Meanwhile Jimmy was using his sword to fend off some goons while Jason finished getting the proof.

"Alright let's get outta here." Jason said as he grabbed his battle axe and started helping Jimmy finish off some goons. Suddenly Eric came up behind the last goon and slammed a chair over his head. "Hey what happened?" Jason asked as he saw Eric. Eric's left arm was obviously smashed and broken from the fall, and blood covered almost the whole left side of his head from where his head slammed against the ground slightly.

"I'm ok, get out of here quick." Eric spoke in a broken voice.

"Eric!" Asada yelled from the door way as she saw Eric. Eric slowly turned around to see Asada and Kirito standing by the door.

"Let's get out of here and to a hospital quick." Kirito said.

"I think it's to late, make sure she stays safe and the proof gets to the police." Eric said as he fell to the ground.

"No!" Asada yelled as she ran and kneeled beside Eric.

"Before I close my eyes I must know… why do you like somebody like me?" Eric asked.

"Because I knew you would always keep me safe and happy and I learned that's what I wanted to do for you, make you happy and safe!" Asada shouted at him as she shook him to try and keep him awake.

"Well You made me happy, Thank you from the depths of my heart for that." Eric said with the most real smile he's ever done. Eric closed his eyes as Asada and Kirito yelled for him to stay alive. 'With the murder I did in SAO and now in the real world I'm going to hell for sure, but at least she will be safe from laughing coffin.' Eric thought. 'Thank you Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Agil, Leafa, Lisbeth, Silica, Hunter, and Asada for making me realize even after what I did in SAO I could live a kinda normal life, and I enjoyed what bit of it I had left.' Eric thought as he felt his mind fade into darkness.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Please wake up

[Hey guys welcome to chapter 20, I for one can't believe I've made it to chapter 20. This is honestly my biggest ongoing project, and I'm so happy so see some people reading and enjoying this story. And some changes might be happening, Chapters might start coming out slower but that's because odds are I'm gonna start making chapters longer. So without any further ado, Link Start!]

Asada was standing in the kitchen when Eric came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Good morning." Eric said in a cheery tone.

"Why good morning to you too." Asada said as she giggled.

"I'm so glad laughing coffin is gone now." Eric said.

"Me too, because now that we're safe we can spend a lot more time together." Asada said. Eric smiled. "What would you like for breakfast?" Asada asked.

"Anything that you'll cook would be good." Eric replied.

"Does it count as cooking if I use my phone to call take out?" Asada asked. Eric just chuckled and nodded. Asada went to go kiss Eric but suddenly she started hearing a voice. "Who's there?" Asada asked. Eric and the kitchen faded out of sight and Dulk started walking up to her.

"Guess who." Dulk said as he pulled out a gun.

"No! You're dead!" Asada shouted.

"Am I?" Dulk asked as he cocked the gun. Asada started crying as Dulk aimed and fired at her. Asada woke up in a cold sweat. Asada looked around the dull hospital room that Eric was in. She got out of her chair and stood next to his bed. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Asada said. Kirito stepped in and shut the door before walking to the other side of Eric's bed.

"Has anything changed in his condition?" Kirito asked.

"No, He's still in the coma and having a Seizer every now and again." Asada answered.

"It's been a few months, I mean it's now summer and nothing has changed." Kirito said shaking his head.

"The doctors are really starting to lose hop for him because of all the Seizers." Asada said as a tear came to her eyes.

"Well I haven't, I only knew Eric for a few months but even being around him for the time I was I could tell he won't die so easily. And he definitely wouldn't die if he knew it would make you sad." Kirito said.

"Yeah, he's strong I'm sure he can pull through." Asada said trying to stay positive.

"Asuna said she'll come by here later to keep you company." Kirito said.

"She's so kind, She has been doing that a lot." Asada said.

"Well I'm gonna go meet up with her to spend a little time before she swings by here, call us if anything happens." Kirito said. Asada nodded and he said his farewells and left. 'Come on man she needs you, everyone's rooting for you so get up.' Kirito thought as he left the hospital. Kirito pulled up in front of the mall on his bike. Asuna walked up to him.

"Hey." Asuna said.

"Hi, I just got back from a quick visit to the hospital." Kirito said.

"How is he?" Asuna asked.

"According to Asada the doctors told her that they were losing hope since his condition hasn't change in all the months he's been there." Kirito replied.

"And how is she holding up?" Asuna asked.

"She's about as well as last time I saw her." Kirito answered. They walked in silence as they made their way into the mall.

"Oh as a surprise we should buy her a nice outfit and something for Eric whenever he finally wakes up." Asuna said.

"That's a nice idea." Kirito said. Kirito and Asuna wandered into the clothes shop.

"What do you think of this?" Asuna asked as she held up a black dress that had green highlights around the edges.

"Looks nice, I'm gonna go to the men section to find something for Eric." Kirito replied. Asuna nodded as she continued looking around. Kirito stumbled upon an orange t-shirt with a crimson red jacket. 'If I can find a good pair of black jeans this could be a cool outfit.' Kirito thought as he looked through the racks of pants. After an hour or so of clothes shopping Kirito and Asuna payed up and met outside the clothes shop at a mall bench.

"I got her that black and green dress with a black long sleeve shirt with black shorts." Asuna said as she showed Kirito the clothes.

"Looks good, for him I got this Orange T-Shirt, black pants, and a nice crimson red jacket." Kirito stated as he held up the clothes he bought. They talked for a while before Asuna decided to head to the hospital to stay with Asada for a while. Meanwhile Hunter was getting kicked out of his apartment.

"Your late on rent." The landlord said.

"Give me a few more days and I should have some money." Hunter said.

"I've given you enough extensions in the past, you're outta here." The landlord said as he took Hunter's key and left Hunter and his boxes outside the building.

"Well this is annoying." Hunter said as he took out his wallet to count his money. "And this is like the cheapest apartment I could find." Hunter said as he sighed at his low amount of money. 'If only I had enough time to finish my animation project.' Hunter thought as he took out his phone and dialed Silica.

"Hello?" Silica asked as she answered her phone.

"Yeah Hi, Um I got kicked out of my apartment and was wondering If I could crash at your house for a few days." Hunter said.

"Of course you can stay, stay as long as you need." Silica said.

"Thanks, I'll hire some moving people to help transport my few boxes of stuff over there.

"Ok, I'll be waiting for you." Silica said as she hung up. Hunter sighed.

"Well at least I'll be comfy for a few days while I work." Hunter said as he dialed a cheap moving company. It only took a few hours for Hunter and his 10 boxes to be inside Silica's house.

"Just make yourself at home." Silica said as Hunter put down the last of his boxes in a decent sized guestroom.

"I will, thank you." Hunter said.

"No problem." Silica said as she ran up and hugged him. "I'll have dinner ready at 9:30." Silica said as she let go of Hunter and left his new room.

"Hmm I wonder what's for dinner." Hunter said aloud. 'Guess that don't really matter now though.' Hunter thought. Hunter set up his computer and drawing tablet on the desk that was already in the guest room. After a few minutes Silica poked her hand in the room to see Hunter drawing something.

"What you doing?" Silica asked.

"I'm lining a drawing I did in my sketchbook. Normally Eric lines this stuff for me but ya' know the problem with that now. But he did teach me how to do it myself." Hunter replied.

"What are you going to do with it?" Silica asked.

"I'm gonna give it to an animator to make a rig of it so I can model and animate it." Hunter answered.

"Ok well good luck, I'll be back when food's done." Silica said.

"Ok thanks." Hunter said as Silica closed the door. Silica cooked some ribs and when they were finished she set two plates on the table and she called for Hunter. Hunter came down the stairs and sat at the table.

"After we eat do you want to watch a movie in the living room?" Silica asked.

"Sure, sounds like a nice break." Hunter answered.

"Great." Silica said with a smile. After they ate dinner they sat together on the couch and started watching Your Villain Academy. "I love this anime." Silica said as she snuggled up to Hunter. Hunter's face turned red and he stuttered before talking.

"Yeah me to." Hunter said as Silica just giggled at him. They watched the whole third season of YVA, and when they were done Silica was 2 seconds away from falling asleep. "Alright come on it's super late, let's get you to bed." Hunter said as he picked Silica up bridal style.

"Mm No I'm awake." Silica said trying to fight a yawn.

"Your voice says otherwise." Hunter said as he carried her up the stairs towards her room.

"Fiiinnnneee." Silica said as she yawned. Hunter set her down in her bed. "Goodnight." Silica said.

'Goodnight, sleep tight." Hunter said as he waved and shut her bedroom door. Hunter decided to go for a quick drive. Hunter parked his Honda rebel in the hospital parking lot. He took the elevator and stepped into the room Eric was staying in, he saw Asada and Asuna asleep in some chairs. Hunter stood beside Eric's bed. "Tch, don't tell me you're going to die this easy. You haven't even fulfilled that promise we made when we were children yet." Hunter said in a whisper. Hunter stepped to the door and turned back to look at Eric. 'So don't you dare die till then, ya hear?' Hunter thought. Hunter closed the door and drove back to Silica's house. He laid down on his bed and passed out. In the morning Asada and Asuna awoke to the sight of doctors in Eric's room.

"What happened?" Asuna asked as her and Asada tried waking up quickly.

"He had 2 seizers back to back, It took awhile to get his vitals back to normal." The main Doctor said.

"But he's ok now right?" Asada asked.

"It seems that way, in fact during one of the seizers he seemed to wake up for a split second before slipping back into his comma." The main doctor answered again.

"So does that mean he has a high chance of waking up?" Asada asked.

"Maybe." The main doctor answered with a shrug.

"Well it really does seem like he might pull through." Asada said as her and Asuna smiled at each other.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Come with me?

[Hello everyone, hope ya'll are all doing well. In case anyone was wondering why I did such a huge time skip it's because I wanna try to keep my fanfic sorta in time with the real world so when real life holidays come I can do a chapter or 2 on them. Anyway Link Start!]

'Finally this fog is starting to clear.' Eric thought as he started to wake up. 'I still can't move my body but at least my brain is starting to fire back up.' Eric thought as he tried his best to move any part of his body. Eric was still trying to move when he noticed people talking, he strained to listen.

"How many more rows till you finish the blanket?" Asuna asked.

"Only about 5 more." Asada answered as she continued crocheting a blanket.

'Asada and Asuna are here.' Eric thought as he tried even harder to move. 'Damn it body work!' Eric thought. Eric managed to make an audible grunt.

"What was that?" Asuna asked. Asada and Asuna looked at Eric.

"H-ey." Eric said weakly. Asada and Asuna stood up and walked over to Eric. Eric finally had enough power to open his eyes. "G-Guess who's s-still alive." Eric said a little louder with a weak smile. Asada hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad you've finally woke up." Asada said as she still kept ahold of him.

"How long have I been out?" Eric asked with his voice almost normal.

"Months, It's now December. About 2 weeks before Christmas." Asuna replied as Eric started regaining feeling in his arms.

"So I've missed a lot of stuff then huh?" Eric asked as Asada let go of him.

"Yeah, but the school understands and said you'll need to review and you will be allowed to come in semester 2 and you still have a chance to pass into a new grade, so you won't be behind." Asada answered.

"So I went into the coma being 16 and I'm now 17." Eric said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I'll go get a doctor." Asuna said. Asuna left the room while Asada helped Eric sit up. A few minutes later Asuna returned with the doctor.

"Hello Eric, I'm doctor Danny." Danny said.

"Nice to meet ya doc." Eric said.

"How are you feeling?" Danny asked.

"Well it took a bit but I've regained feeling in my whole body, and now I'm just numb and feeling slightly off balance." Eric replied.

"Well If your friends help you do you think you can return home?" Danny asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied not wanting to be in a hospital any longer than he had to.

"Then doctors orders are to; take it easy, give yourself a day or two before trying to walk a lot, and even though you should be fine I don't want you playing any VRMMO's for a few days because I don't want it to cause you to slip back into a coma." Danny said.

"Understood." Eric said.

"Don't worry I'll make sure he listens." Asada said.

"You do that, well just get dressed and I'll have the front desk ready to sigh you out." Danny said. Eric and Danny shook hands and Danny left.

"I'll go outside and bring the car around front to wait for you two." Asuna said as Asada handed her the firebird keys. Asada helped Eric stand up.

"Kirito bought you some clothes, it's in the bathroom." Asada said. Eric nodded and walk in to the bathroom. A few minutes later Asuna saw Asada and Eric walk out.

"Remind me to thank Kirito for theses cool clothes." Eric said.

"He knew you'd like them." Asuna said with a smile as she moved into the back to let Asada drive while Eric rode shotgun. "Just drop me off at Kirito's please, besides I'm sure he'd like to know that Eric's awake." Asuna said. After a driving for a bit they pulled into the drive way at Kirito's house. Asuna and Asada walked in first and made Kirito and Leafa close their eyes. Eric walked in.

"Guess who." Eric said. Kirito and Leafa's eyes shot open.

"Eric!" They shouted.

"Ding ding ding." Eric said with a laugh.

"So you're awake now." Kirito said.

"Yup, by the way thanks for the clothes." Eric said.

"No problem, they suit you." Kirito said.

"Well I'll try to meet up with everyone later but right now I just wanna head home and rest." Eric said.

"Alright man just text me and everyone later." Kirito said.

"Will do man, see ya'll later." Eric said as him and Asada left. After a while Eric and Asada walked inside of the house. "Oh I see you've kept the place clean." Eric said.

"Yeah, I didn't want it messy when you woke up." Asada said.

"Well thanks, say I have a question for you." Eric said. Asada looked at him. Eric turned red. "Well uh even though laughing coffin is defeated and everyone is safe, would you still like to stay here with me?" Eric asked.

"Of course I would like to stay with you." Asada said as she hugged Eric. Eric sighed with a smile. "Now since you gotta take it easy how bout I order us a pizza and we go watch some stuff?" Asada asked.

"Yeah, and I'm kinda tired so can we eat in my room, I do have that nice big HDTV." Eric said.

"You go ahead and go and set up something to watch and I'll be up when pizza is here." Asada said with a smile. Eric nodded and walked up the stairs and laid in his bed and cut the tv on. Cody hopped up onto the bed and snuggled with Eric.

"Awww how's a good boy?" Eric asked as he petted Cody. "Been awhile." Eric said as he rubbed Cody's head. After about 15 minutes Asada walked up the stairs and laid next to Eric and opened the pizza box.

"What we watching?" Asada asked.

"Well they just released season 4 of YVA, so wanna start from the very beginning and work our way up to season 4?" Eric asked.

"Yeah sounds nice." Asada said. Eric and Asada ate pizza then cuddled while watching YVA till both of them fell asleep. In the morning Eric woke up and moved a little and felt weight to his left and right. Eric looked and saw that Asada was asleep with her arm around him on the left, while Cody was curled up and sleeping to Eric's right. Eric smiled and tried to get up, but Asada woke up and grabbed his hand. "Good morning." Asada said groggily.

"Good morning." Eric said as he rolled around to face her and smiled.

"Sorry guess you fell asleep then I fell asleep with you." Asada said.

"It's fine, it was fun eating with you and watching TV." Eric said as he hugged her.

"Yeah." Asada said as she snuggled into Eric's chest. She started falling back to sleep and before Eric knew it she was out cold. Eric chuckled softly and just closed his eyes.

'Eh I could use some more sleep.' Eric thought. A few hours later Eric woke up again and saw that Asada was sitting up watching stuff on TV.

"Oh glad to see you awake." Asada said with a warm smile. Eric yawned.

"How long was I out?" Eric asked.

"A few hours, I just woke up a few minutes ago." Asada replied.

"Wow it's kinda cold." Eric said as he shivered.

"Yeah, I mean it is December." Asada said. Eric sat up and stretched.

"I'll go make breakfast, any requests?" Eric asked.

"Hmm, waffles?" Asada asked. Eric nodded and left the room and headed towards the kitchen. Eric received a phone call from Kirito.

"Yello?" Eric asked.

"Hey dude, been trying to call for the past hour." Kirito said.

"Sorry man, me and Asada was asleep." Eric said.

"It's ok I was just calling to see how you was feeling." Kirito said.

"Much better, I love the cold but I guess since I was in a coma for so long I'm really about to freeze." Eric said.

"It is really frosty outside." Kirito said.

"Well anyway I'm gonna fix me and Asada some breakfast, I'll get in a group chat with everyone later." Eric said.

"Alright man, take care." Kirito said before hanging up. Eric finished making waffles and walked upstairs and back into his room.

"Really?" Eric asked with a chuckled as he noticed Cody had gotten up and moved into his spot next to Asada.

"He thought you was taking to long." Asada said with a laugh. Eric just laughed and handed Asada her plate of waffles.

"Well since he's in my spot I'll just sit at my desk and do some work on computer." Eric said as he sat at his desk. Eric had a slight gasp when he loaded up his email.

"What?" Asada asked as she paused the TV.

"Well long story cut short, back when I was in SAO I teamed up with a few different people sometimes, Kirito, Hunter, Silica, and a few random people. Well one time I teamed with this kid who was young and we got along so well I ended up giving him my email. After a while I didn't see him around so I thought he died but I just got an email from him." Eric explained.

"What's it say?" Asada asked.

"Basically he says sorry for not emailing me sooner but he forgot my email and was just able to remember. He's now 15 and doing very well in school and in life." Eric replied.

"That's nice." Asada said. Eric nodded and emailed him back. "Hey, If you don't mind I'm very comfortable right here so can I stay here on the bed and watch stuff on your TV for a while?" Asada asked.

"Sure, I love having you around so stay as long as you want." Eric replied as he checked more emails and sent more replies. Eric grabbed his phone and sent everyone a group message saying he was awake and fine. Sometime later after finished all his emails and texting everyone Eric grabbed a game controller and started playing a game on his computer.

"I got to make a phone call so I'll be in the living room for a call and to do some texting." Asada said.

"Alright, I'll be down in a bit." Eric said. Asada walked downstairs. Time Eric finished gaming his phone went off.

"Hello?" Eric asked as he cut his computer off.

"Hello." Eric's mom said.

"Oi, how've you and dad been doing?" Eric asked.

"Good, so you've woken up from that coma." Eric's mom said.

"Yeah, not even falling off like a 4 floor building can kill me." Eric stated boldly.

"Your dad said that's probably what you would say." Eric's mom said with a laugh. "Well there is a reason I called." Eric's mom continued.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Well the rest of the family wanted to know if you'd be coming back to America for a little bit for Christmas." Eric's mom said.

"Oh…" Eric said as he thought. "Yeah, It's been about a year since I was back in America." Eric said.

"So shall I tell everyone you'll be coming?" Eric's mom asked.

"I'll stay for Christmas but because the fourth bullet of bullets will be starting soon after Christmas I'll fly back almost right after Christmas." Eric stated.

"Alright, when will you be coming?" Eric's mom inquired.

"I'll try to get on a plane in the next few days, by the way can I invite someone?" Eric asked.

"Who?" Eric's mom asked.

"Well maybe 2, I'll talk to Hunter and see if he wants to come although I don't know if he'll come back this year. But I wanna invite a friend that's been staying with me to come." Eric replied.

"Well just ask Hunter and your friend then let me know." Eric's mom said.

"I will, I'll call when I know who's coming with me and when I have the plane tickets." Eric said.

"Ok, love you and be safe, Bye." Eric's mom said.

"Love you too mom, I will. Bye." Eric said. Eric ended the phone call. "Time for Christmas I guess." Eric said with a sigh. "Guess I'll have to buy everyone something soon." Eric said as he left his room. Eric walked downstairs and saw Asada on the couch texting someone. "It's cold in here, want me to try and find a heater or something?" Eric asked.

"I have an idea, come here." Asada said. Eric went over to the couch, Asada made him lay down next to her, she then pulled the cover over both of them. "Now with both of us close together under the cover it will warm up." Asada said as she finished texting and looked at Eric.

"I'll still buy a heater for later, but I have a question for you." Eric said.

"You know you can ask me anything." Asada said.

"I'm going back to America soon to enjoy a few days with family during Christmas, then I'll be back in time for the 4th B.O.B, And my question is will you come with me?" Eric asked.

"Sure! I'd love to come with you and enjoy Christmas with you and your family." Asada replied with a smile.

"I'm glad." Eric said with a warm smile.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: take it easy?

[Hello everyone, hope ya'll are all doing well. Remember if you're enjoying this fanfic then you can follow and favorite it to keep up to date with new chapters and show your support. Link Start!]

Eric, Kirito, Hunter, and Klein walked into the mall. "Nothing like a boy's day out in town, right?" Klein asked.

"Yeah." Kirito said.

"I'll use whatever fresh air I can get." Eric said with a chuckle. "By the way Hunter I have a question for you." Eric said.

"Shoot." Hunter said.

"Everyone wants to know if you're coming with me back to America for a few days for Christmas." Eric said.

"Nah, I'm gonna chill here with Silica and the others." Hunter stated.

"Got it." Eric said with a nod.

"So when are you leaving?" Kirito asked.

"If I can get the tickets, day after tomorrow." Eric answered.

"Have you told everyone else yet?" Klein asked.

"I haven't told Asuna, Agil, Silica, or Lisbeth about it yet." Eric replied.

"You need to, also what'd Asada say?" Kirito asked.

"She's coming with me." Eric replied. Kirito smirked in a way Eric was all too familiar with. "I can tell you wanna say something, so just spit it out." Eric said.

"Already taking her to meet the family huh? You're a fast one." Kirito said.

"Ha Ha Ha." Eric said sarcastically. "Anyway I'll be back in time for B.O.B, besides both me and Asada will have our Amuspheres so we can log in for the Christmas rewards." Eric said.

"Well I hope you two have a great time together." Kirito said.

"It's no fair." Klein said with a pout.

"huh?" Eric, Hunter, and Kirito asked.

"Kirito has Asuna, Eric has Asada, Hunter has Silica, and I've heard that even Agil has started seeing someone." Klein explained.

"Don't worry buddy, You'll find your soulmate one day." Eric said.

"Yeah." Hunter agreed.

"But you might want to cut back on your overly big attempts at getting a girl." Kirito added.

"You guys are right." Klein said. Eric suddenly broke away from the group and wandered towards the arcade. "Eric?" Klein asked. They followed him.

"I'm feeling much better and I wanna try a game of D.D.R." Eric said as he bought some tickets.

"Didn't the doc said to take it easy?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, but I don't see him around here." Eric replied as he made his way over to the machine. "Perfect, A enemy that can give me a challenge." Eric said as he saw a pink hat and dark grey jacket he recognized. "Yo, rematch?" Eric asked.

"Been awhile since I saw you, yeah I'll take you on." Kelly said. Eric and Kelly stepped onto the machine. "I'll pick the song." Kelly said.

"Alright." Eric said. Kelly picked Believer by Imagine Dragons. They both started out strong and before anyone knew it they were on an endless loop of god mode with both of them having perfect scores. 'Ok I think I might be over doing it now.' Eric thought as pain started coming from both his legs. Eric missed two arrows back to back and lost.

"Well seems I won this time." Kelly said.

"Yeah, good job." Eric said.

"I look forward to the next rematch." Kelly said as she walked away.

"another one? Ouch my legs would kill me." Eric said with a chuckle.

"Legs hurting?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah I over did it, but don't tell Asada. She'd have my head on a silver platter for over doing it." Eric replied with a gulp.

"I won't." Kirito said with a laugh. "Hunter and Klein are already doing some shopping." Kirito said.

"Right, I need to do some Christmas shopping myself." Eric said.

"Well meet up in the food court in one hour?" Kirito asked. Eric nodded before they went their separate ways.

'Hmm… Since I won't be here on Christmas I need to go ahead and buy everyone something, I might can even find something to take to America as a gift.' Eric thought as he stepped into an antiquate shop. Eric looked around a few different shops and bought a few things.

"Where is he?" Hunter asked as he tapped his foot against the ground.

"Here, Sorry I'm late." Eric said as he walked up to Hunter, Kirito, and Klein.

"No bags? I thought you would've bought something." Klein said.

"That's what took me so long, I was putting a bunch of bags back in my car." Eric explained.

"Oh, makes since." Kirito said. Eric's phone started ringing.

"Yo I got to take this, order me a hamburger please." Eric said as he walked out the food court to answer his phone. Kirito, Hunter, and Klein ordered food and grabbed all the meals and sat at a table. Eric walked back a few minutes later.

"What was that about?" Hunter asked.

"Oh It was Asada calling me to ask a quick question." Eric replied.

"Everything ok?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, she just wanted to know when I was gonna get tickets to fly to America." Eric answered.

"When are you leaving?" Kirito asked.

"Soon, I wanna show her around my home town a little bit, so we're going to go soon so we can enjoy before returning for B.O.B." Eric replied.

"Got it." Kirito said. After everyone finished food Kirito and Klein headed back to their houses, meanwhile Eric and Hunter drove to a nearby GameStop.

"Do you remember our promise?" Hunter asked as they stepped inside the shop.

"Yeah." Eric said as they walked down the anime merch section.

"When?" Hunter asked.

"After B.O.B we will say our good byes to our friends and log into ALO. There it will happen." Eric answered.

"When we battle you better not hold back." Hunter said.

"I have no reason to hold back, I'll come at you as if you were a real threat." Eric stated.

"Good, because I'm not gonna hold back." Hunter said.

"I wouldn't ask you to." Eric said. The boys looked around for a while before Eric went back home.

"Welcome back." Asada said as Eric stepped inside.

"Thanks." Eric said as he sat on the couch.

"You ok?" Asada asked as she stepped out of the kitchen.

"I'm just tired." Eric answered. Eric yawned and shivered. "And cold." Eric said as he got up to find a heater.

"Well I'm fixing dinner, how about you go lay down for a bit and I'll wake you up when it's ready." Asada suggested.

"Yeah ok." Eric said as he walked upstairs. Eric plopped down onto his bed and passed out almost instantly. Asada walked upstairs a little while later after finishing cooking.

"Hey, foods done." Asada said as she gently shook Eric. Eric grumbled and yawned.

"I'll be down in a minute." Eric said.

"Ok, Don't fall asleep again." Asada said as she walked downstairs. Eric sat up and checked his phone. Eric walked downstairs and sat at the table. They ate dinner and then they sat together on the couch.

"I got Kirito and Asuna to agree to watch Cody while we're gone, and I'm ordering tickets now." Eric said.

"Ok, so when do we leave?" Asada asked.

"Tomorrow, we have to be at the airport by 1:00." Eric replied.

"Well while you're buying tickets I'll start packing some of my stuff." Asada said.

"Ok." Eric said as he started buying some tickets. Asada grabbed a suitcase and walked into her room. After Eric finished buying the tickets he grabbed his suitcase and went to his room to pack.

"Whew, I'm finally all packed." Asada said as she closed her suitcase. "I better make sure Eric finished and didn't get distracted." Asada said as she left her room. She poked her head in Eric's room and saw he had closed his suitcase and was out cold. Asada stepped in and pulled a cover over Eric and cut his light out before returning to her room.

'Hope I didn't over sleep.' Eric thought as he woke up. Eric checked his phone and it said 11:42am. Eric grabbed his suitcase and went into the living room.

"Good to see you're awake." Asada said.

"Yeah, you about ready to go?" Eric asked. Asada nodded. "Ok then, let's put the suitcases in the car and load Cody up to so we can take him to Kirito's house." Eric said. Eric and Asada put the suitcases, a big bag, and Cody in the car, they then left and drove to Kirito's house. "Thanks for watching Cody." Eric said.

"No problem, I'll send you some pics of him to let you know he's ok." Kirito said.

"Thanks, by the way here." Eric said as he handed Kirito the big bag. "Don't open that bag until Christmas." Eric said with a smirk.

"Alright." Kirito said.

"Eric we need to go, we can't be late." Asada said.

"Right, bye Kirito." Eric said.

"See ya, have a nice trip." Kirito said. Eric and Asada got to the airport and bordered the plane.

"I'm gonna try to sleep the whole flight, wake me when we get there ok?" Eric asked.

"Sure." Asada said. Eric closed his eyes and started drifting off to sleep.

'When I wake up we'll be in America.' Eric thought before he passed out.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Stars, Stripes, Blood

[Hiya everyone, hope ya'll are all well. Remember to favorite and follow the story if you enjoy it. Link Start!]

Asada had been drawing when out the corner of her eye she saw Eric shift uncomfortably in his seat. "I'm surprised you're up, there's still almost 2 hours left on the flight." Asada said in a whisper. They started talking in a quiet tone.

"I got some sleep, but between a minor fear of heights and the fact that I hate flying in airplanes means I don't get much sleep on these flights." Eric said.

"You ok?" Asada asked.

"yeah, I just really don't like airplanes." Eric replied.

"Everything will be ok." Asada said as she held Eric's hand.

"Right." Eric said with a smile.

"Well when we land it will be quite late, so what do you say we eat some dinner at a fast food place then get a hotel for the night?" Asada asked.

"Sounds good, then we will meet up with my family tomorrow." Eric answered.

"I can't wait to meet them." Asada said.

"Yeah they're really nice, I look forward to introducing you to everyone." Eric said. Eric thought about something and chuckled.

"What?" Asada asked.

"I can imagine some of them saying something like; Finally he got a girl that will be a good influence on him." Eric replied with a laugh.

"Well I guess we'll find out." Asada said.

"Yeah." Eric said. Eric and Asada chatted for a while until the captain announced they were landing shortly. The plane landed and Eric and Asada got into a taxi that took them to a nearby McDonalds. Asada ordered them each a big mac.

"While we're waiting for our orders I'll check my phone to see some nearby hotels." Eric said.

"Alright, I'll let you know when I see that the foods ready." Asada said. Eric nodded and took out his phone and started surfing the web. Eric found a hotel close to them time the food finished. "How about we go check into the hotel then eat." Asada suggested.

"Alright, I'll call for a cab." Eric said as they walked outside. After a minute a cab pulled up and took Eric and Asada to the Moonlight hotel. They paid the cabdriver and walked in and to the front desk. "Excuse me, how much will a room cost?" Eric asked.

"I need more info, how many beds? Type of view? Standard or V.I.P room? How many nights?" The receptionist asked.

"2 bed, cheapest view, standard, 1 night." Eric answered.

"$250." The receptionist said. Eric's jaw dropped.

"Um how much for all that but with 1 bed instead of 2?" Asada asked.

"$100." The receptionist said.

"I can pay $100 I guess." Eric said with a sigh.

"Better than $250." Asada said.

"Yeah." Eric agreed. Eric payed for the room then they got the key and headed up to their room on the 5th floor. They sat on the bed and watched TV as they ate their food, after they finished Asada stood up while Eric sat in a chair while working on his tablet.

"I'm gonna take a shower, be out in a bit." Asada said.

"Alright." Eric said as he continued working. Asada finished her shower a little while later and saw that Eric was now doodling something on his notepad.

"The water feels nice, you should go take you a shower." Asada said.

"Alright, I will in a sec." Eric said as he finished up doodling a little monster.

"What's that?" Asada asked.

"I'm working on a game app and I want something like this to be the starter creature." Eric replied. Eric handed Asada the drawing, it was a small monster that looked like a little ball that had floating bone shards around it, with menacing eyes and sharp teeth.

"While you are taking your shower do you mind if I make a few changes?" Asada asked.

"Go ahead." Eric said as he grabbed some clothes and stepped into the bathroom to shower. Asada grabbed her own notebook and began making random sketches that were similar to Eric's. When Eric finished showering Asada showed him her improved version. "Wow, that's amazing." Eric said as he looked at the design. "Can I use this as the reference for the creature in the game?" Eric asked.

"Of course you can." Asada replied with a smile. Eric sat in the chair and started working on his tablet again.

"If you don't mind I might request your help with more creature designs." Eric said.

"I'll help you anytime you want, now it's late so come on. Let's go to bed." Asada said.

"5 more minutes please?" Eric asked with a pouty face.

"No, we got to go in the morning." Asada said. Eric moped over and laid in bed with Asada. "You can work on it tomorrow." Asada said.

"You're right." Eric said.

"Goodnight." Asada said

"Goodnight." Eric said as they snuggled close together. They both slept peacefully until morning and they got up and checked out of the hotel. 'Why am I getting a bad feeling?' Eric thought as him and Asada started walking away from the front desk to leave. Eric's eyes widened he saw a guy walk past him. 'hoodie pulled over his head and reaching into his back pockets? That's trouble for sure.' Eric thought. "Asada listen to me, go hide behind one of the thick pillars, now." Eric said in a hushed tone. Asada looked at him with eyes full of worry. "Trust me." Eric said as he turned around and walked back towards the front desk. Asada did as Eric said as hid behind a pillar.

"Everyone get down! This is a robbery!" The guy yelled as he took out his gun and started waving it around at the front desk. "Give me all the money!" The robber shouted. Eric came up behind him and grabbed the robbers hand and smashed it into the desk. The robber dropped the gun and kicked Eric back.

"You picked the wrong time to try a robbery." Eric said. The robber got into a boxing stance. Eric dodged all of the robbers punches. Eric swept the robber's legs and kicked him across the floor. Eric ran at the robber as he reached for his gun. The robber spun around and pulled the trigger. Bang! Smack! Thud! The robber fainted after Eric hit him square in the face. "Call the police." Eric said as he gripped his bleeding shoulder.

"Eric!" Asada yelled as she ran up to Eric with tears in her eyes.

"I'm ok." Eric said as he sat on the floor.

"Ok? You're shot!" Asada shouted.

"I'm sure the police and Ambulances are on the way." Eric said calmly. Asada sat down and hugged Eric.

"Stop playing hero please, this is just another time you got hurt and could've died." Asada said.

"I'm sorry, but if you are in trouble I'm gonna do whatever I can to make you safe, and I'm also going to stop trouble if I can." Eric said.

"Well then at least keeping coming out of it alive." Asada said.

"As long as you need and want me I won't die." Eric said.

"I will always need and want you, however that does not make you bullet proof." Asada said.

"No but my feelings for you makes me bullet proof, see I got shot and I'm just fine." Eric said as he gestured to his shoulder. Asada just kept ahold of him till the Cops and Medics arrived. The medics removed the bullet and bandaged Eric's shoulder up.

"That arm might, no, it will hurt for a while. So take it easy with that arm." A medic said.

"But in the end you should be just fine." A different medic said.

"Alright thanks." Eric said. Eric gave his statement to the police officers and him and Asada got into a cab and headed towards his home town.

"So where are we going to stay while we're here?" Asada asked.

"My parents said we can stay in my old room." Eric replied.

"Cool." Asada said.

"Odds are they didn't touch anything which means my room will be full of anime stuff and the walls covered in anime fanart and posters." Eric said.

"What kind of anime stuff?" Asada asked.

"An old Anime cosplay outfit or two, some anime weapons, and lots of anime action figures." Eric replied with a smile for all the fond memories.

"I can't wait to see your old room." Asada said trying to picture what it might look like.

"It's probably still messy." Eric said with a chuckle.

"Knowing you yeah." Asada said with a laugh. After a long drive the cab pulled off the main road and onto a dirt road. A couple of minutes later the car stopped at a gate. Eric and Asada got out and payed. Eric stepped to the gate and unlocked it. "How far of a walk is it?" Asada asked.

"Eh if we wanna stop in the town a short walk but If we wanna head straight to the house a decent walk." Eric replied.

"Town?" Asada asked confused.

"Well you see there is a bunch of people living on this huge property and there is a town and a beach. My family owns most of this property, each part of my family has their own house somewhere in the forest away from the rest of the people." Eric explained.

"Whoa!" Asada shouted in amazement.

"If you want I can carry you most of the way quickly." Eric said.

"You sure?" Asada asked.

"Yeah." Eric said.

"Alright but put me down when you get tired." Asada said. Eric nodded then crouched. Asada climbed onto his back.

"Hold on." Eric said as Asada wrapped her arms around him. "Ready?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Asada said. Eric took off running. "Whoa! Don't over do it." Asada said as Eric was still running at full speed.

"After being in that coma for so long I need some excise." Eric said.

"However you need to do it slowly and not hurt yourself." Asada stated.

"I'm fine." Eric said as he didn't slow down. Eric ran ¾ the way there before he slowed to a walk.

"I can walk if you want." Asada said.

"It's fine, We're almost there." Eric said trying to maintain a steady flow of breath. After just a few minutes a big brick house came into view.

"Amazing." Asada said when she saw the size of it. Eric stopped at the porch and let Asada get down. Eric stretched.

"That was a nice workout." Eric said.

"You still might hurt later." Asada said.

"Maybe." Eric said.

"Eric?" A woman asked as she stepped outside.

"Hello mom." Eric said.

"Come inside." Eric's Mom said. Eric and Asada stepped inside and walked into the living room.

"I'm surprised you're not at work." Eric said.

"I have a few weeks off." Eric's mom said.

"Ah, well mom this is Asada." Eric said as he gestured towards Asada.

"Nice to meet you." Asada said.

"Well it's nice to meet you too." Eric's mom said. "What happened to your arm?" Eric's mom asked

"Oh it's nothing." Eric said.

"He got shot." Asada answered.

"Really?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Asada said.

"How'd you get shot this time?" Eric's mom asked.

"I stopped a robber." Eric replied.

"You need to stop getting into dangerous situations." Eric's mom said.

"I know, Asada done gave me an earful about being reckless." Eric said.

"You could probably use another." Asada said.

"Oh yay I'm already getting teamed up against." Eric said with a laugh.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Don't touch her

[Hello everyone, whew Christmas is getting close huh. I'm late on my Christmas shopping, guess I just like to wait till the last minute. Anyway I hope everyone is well and not stressing to bad over Christmas, quick plan update, I will "try" (keyword Try) to post 2 Christmas chapters, Yes 2 not 1. Ch25 will be Christmas with Eric and Asada plus the family while Ch26 will be Kirito, Asuna, Silica, Hunter, And the others. I'll try to post those 2 chapters on Christmas day. Anyway enjoy this chapter. Link Start!]

Eric woke up on the couch of the living room and looked around. There was a man sitting in a chair playing a video game on a 60inch TV.

"I see you are awake." The man said as he paused the game.

"Hey dad." Eric said groggily.

"I came home yesterday and you were out cold on the couch, you slept the whole day." Eric's dad said.

"Oh, well I guess getting shot and having jetlag will really knock you out." Eric said. "Where's Asada?" Eric asked.

"I saw her leave the house this morning, she probably going to check out the town and beach." Eric's dad replied.

"Then that's where I'm heading, this town is mostly peaceful, but sometimes you have a kid who thinks they own the place. Those are the kids I love to beat some sense into." Eric said as he stood up and started for the door.

"It's good that you have the sense to protect her, she's the one who checked on you many times in the night." Eric's dad said.

"I'll protect her with all my power." Eric said. Eric left the house, time he got off the porch he broke into a sprint towards town. 'I hope she's not getting into trouble, I mean she can handle herself but still.' Eric thought as he took a short cut through the woods. Asada was walking down a street heading towards a quaint little store when a teenager that looked to be just a bit older than her stepped into her way. She didn't notice in time and she bumped right into him, she fell to the ground.

"Yo twit, watch where you are going." The boy said. Eric stepped out of the forest and walked towards them.

"Asada!" Eric called out.

"I-I'm fine." Asada said as she shakily stood up. She looked at her hand and both her and Eric saw blood. Asada had scratched her hand and knee in the fall.

"Dude you should tell her to get some better glasses." The boy said. "Tch blind fools." The boy said as he started to turn away until he noticed Eric's stare. Eric's eyes were locked on the boy, and his pupils were so small. "Stop death glaring at me, I might catch your ugliness." The boy said.

"You already are ugly." Eric said grimly. The boy was shocked.

"Please! I'm wearing fucking Gucci and gold chains." The boy said.

"And that makes you better than everyone else?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." The boy replied.

"What has society fallen to? Wearing some over priced ugly sunshades and belt plus gold chains does not make you the strongest nor the smartest. And in your case it definitely doesn't make you look the best. After all 5x0 Is still just ugly 0." Eric said.

"Shut your broke little ass up." The boy said as he tried getting in Eric's face.

"My family owns over half this property." Eric said calmly.

"Obviously you and your family has no taste if they let you and this ugly bit-" The boy was cut off my Eric's swift movement. Before anyone knew it Eric had his hand around the boy's throat and was dangling him in the air.

"If I had let you continue talking my blood might have evaporated from all the boiling it was doing, now look me in my eyes." Eric said as he choked the boy a little more. The boy refused to look at Eric.

"Don't kill him." Asada said.

"Honestly I really couldn't care less about this punk, hey boy wanna hear something nice. 90% of the people in this town know who I am, they trust my judgment when It comes to kicking people out the town, and I'm willing to bet they would turn their heads if I was to oh say, murder someone." Eric said as he put more force. Fear crept into the boy's eyes and he looked at Eric with tears. "Good now listen closely, Insult me all you want I couldn't careless what some idoit like you thinks about me. But I swear to every god in every belief that if you as so much think something bad about my family or her I will find you and I will keep you at the verge of death without giving you the sweet relief of it." Eric said. "Understand?" Eric asked. The boy did his best to nod. Eric released his hold on the boy, he dropped to his knees. "One last thing." Eric said. The boy looked up at him. Eric grabbed the shades and crushed them in his hand. "Pity anyone is foolish enough to buy this crap." Eric said as he grabbed Asada's hand. "Now let's get you to a better area so I can look at the scratches." Eric said as he led Asada away.

'That psycho.' The boy thought as he sat on the street in tears.

"It's really not that bad." Asada said as Eric kneeled and looked at her hand and her knee.

"Ok, but if they start hurting bad tell me, ok?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Asada said.

"Sorry." Eric said as he stood up. Asada looked at him with confusion. "I went psycho and stepped to far." Eric said. Asada hugged Eric tightly.

"It's ok because you didn't kill him, odds are he will be just fine. And you did it to protect me." Asada said. Eric sighed.

"Yeah, I just hate doing that around you. I don't want you thinking I lose control." Eric said.

"You do lose control sometimes, but it's ok because I know you would never hurt me. As long as I'm at your side I will stop you from going to far." Asada said.

"Thanks." Eric said. Asada let go of him and backed up.

"Well since you're up and here do you wanna go to some shops?" Asada asked.

"I'd love too." Eric replied. Eric and Asada checked serval shops when suddenly a guy walked up to Eric. "Who are you?" Eric asked the man stopped in front of Eric.

"I'm the older brother of the boy you beat up." The brother said.

"I beat that teenage punk because he cause her to fall and proceeded to insult her and my family." Eric said.

"That doesn't matter to me, you beat my brother so now I will beat you." The brother said.

"Asada step back." Eric said. Asada started to step back but an older man stepped behind her and held her in place with a strong hold on her arms.

"Even my pops wants revenge." The brother said.

"Never mess with one of my boys." The old man said. Eric started laughing.

"What's so funny?" The brother asked.

"I beat up your brother for messing with her, and like the first thing you do is have that geezer grab her?" Eric asked with a twisted grin. The grin quickly faded. "Now I'm pissed." Eric said as his eyes narrowed.

"Whether you're pissed or not is none of my concern." The brother said as he stepped towards Eric.

"Let go of her and I might pull a punch or two." Eric said. The brother froze from the tone of Eric's voice and the stare of his eyes.

"I-It's to late for deals." The brother stuttered out as he punched at Eric. Eric was behind him in a blur. Eric hammered his fist into the brother's side. Eric jumped and slammed his knee into the back of the brother's head. The man collapsed and Eric ran at the old man.

"wait now sonny! You wouldn't hit a fragile old guy would you?" The old man asked.

"Normally no, however, you messed with Asada so now I'm gonna hit you like I hit that other dude." Eric replied as the old man backed into a corner.

"I could die!" The old man shouted.

"You should have thought about that before you tried messing with her." Eric said.

"Eric wait, he might die." Asada said.

"I don't know him so it's not like I'll feel sorrow." Eric said.

"That's going to far." Asada said as she tried to stop him but Eric just kept walking towards the man. 'Geeze he can be so hard headed.' Asada thought as she tried to think of something to stop Eric. 'Oh maybe I can throw him off guard for a second so he can try to be reasonable.' Asada thought as she went in front of Eric. Eric went to go step around her but she grabbed his hands. "Eric!" Asada shouted as she let go of his hands and hugged him. Eric stopped for a second.

"… Old man run, if as I see you or one of your children again not even god could pull me off you." Eric said. The old man heeded the warning and ran off.

"Maybe god couldn't pull you off, But I'm sure I'd figure something out." Asada said as she smiled at Eric.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Eric said with a chuckle.

"We should head back to your parents house." Asada said.

"Right." Eric said. Eric and Asada had a peaceful walk back to the house. They went inside and walked to Eric's old room. They sat together on his bed.

"In a few days it's Christmas." Asada said.

"Yeah." Eric said.

"What do you want?" Asada asked. Eric just smirked and picked up his phone and started looking for something. Eric clicked a video and music started playing.

"🎵All I want for Christmas is you. 🎵" Eric sung.

"Oh you." Asada said as she cuddled with Eric.

"But in all fairness the only thing I want is time with the people I care about, including you." Eric said with a smile.

"Well I'll still get you something." Asada said.

"Go ahead, I already got you something." Eric said.

"Really what?" Asada asked.

"Is it Christmas?" Eric asked.

"No." Asada replied.

"Then I can't tell you." Eric said. Asada pouted. "It's a surprise." Eric said.

"Fine, that means I won't tell you what I get you." Asada said.

"Alright." Eric said. Eric and Asada stayed there together and watched out the window as the day neared night.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Merry Christmas p1

[Merry Christmas everyone, or happy whatever it is you may celebrate. This Is 1 of 2 Christmas chapters that I hope will be posted on Christmas. But if I post this late or you're reading after the holidays than I still hope you had a good time. Link Start!]

'So it's finally Christmas huh?' Eric thought as he slowly woke up.

"Oh, are you awake?" Asada asked softly.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Eric asked in a whisper.

"If you have your eyes closed and if you're in thought your eyes twitch." Asada replied.

"Just another thing to keep in mind to fix." Eric said making a memo to self in his head.

"How'd you sleep?" Asada asked.

"Good I guess, It was kinda hard to pass out since it was freezing so bad." Eric answered.

"Yeah and it's still freezing." Asada said. "Is there any hot chocolate in the kitchen?" Asada asked.

"I believe there is a box of what you need to make it." Eric replied. Asada got out of the cover and started to stand up but when the cold hit her she hurried back under the cover.

"I-It's so freaking cold out there." Asada said shivering.

"Then just stay under the cover for a while and wait until it warms up a little." Eric said.

"But I really, really, really want hot chocolate." Asada said with a pout. Eric sighed.

"Then I'll get up and cut the heater on and go make you a cup of it." Eric said.

"But it's freezing." Asada said. Eric stood up and wrapped his cover around Asada.

"There, with two covers you should warm up nice, and don't worry about me." Eric said with a smile.

'He says that but I can see that he is shivering pretty bad.' Asada thought as she noticed Eric shaking. "It's fine just cut the heater on and get back under a blanket so you don't get sick from the cold." Asada said. Eric walked to the heater cut it on and stepped to her side of the bed.

"Well now I want some hot chocolate so I'm gonna walk to the kitchen and make us both a cup of it." Eric said.

"Hurry, it's really cold." Asada said.

"Don't worry I'll be just fine, I'll go make us some and while I'm out there I'll see if anyone else is up. Then I'll be right back." Eric said. Before Asada could say anything else Eric leaned down and kissed her deeply. After what felt like an eternity to both of them Eric stood back up. 'Her face is so red I can almost see it glow in the dark, Cute.' Eric thought, he was also pretty sure his face must be the same shade from how warm his face felt. Eric walked out of the room and shut the door. Eric wondered into the kitchen and started making some hot chocolate. After a minute Eric's dad walked into the kitchen and went to the coffee pot. "Good morning." Eric said.

"Good morning." Eric's dad said. "Been up long?" Eric's dad asked.

"No, I just got up a few minutes ago." Eric replied.

"Santa left a note for you." Eric's dad said.

"Huh?" Eric asked confused.

"He said he'll need you to guide his reindeer next year since you not only have a red nose you have a red face." Eric's dad said.

"Hahaha." Eric said with a smile. "So when are we going to do Christmas?" Eric asked.

"Well since the four of us are up we can do it now." Eric's dad answered.

"How about in an hour?" Eric asked.

"Alright, meet ya'll in the living room." Eric's dad said as he grabbed two cups of coffee and left. Eric finished making the hot chocolate and went back to his room. Asada was sitting up on the bed with a cover wrapped around her.

"Here." Eric said as he handed her a cup. Eric sat next to her, she wrapped the covered around both of them.

"I can't believe you sneak attacked me like that." Asada said as she sipped on her drink. Eric laughed before taking a sip of his.

"Well I'm sorry for sneak attacking you, if you want next time I'll warn you beforehand." Eric said.

"No it's fine." Asada said. "Eric." Asada said.

"Yes?" Eric asked as he turned his head to look at her. Asada leaned in and kissed him. She stopped and smirked.

"There, now we're equal." Asada said.

"I can't believe I fell for that." Eric said blushing.

"Well believe it cause you so did." Asada said.

"Oh and in about an hour we are going to the living room to do Christmas." Eric said. Asada nodded as she sipped more of her drink. They finished their drinks and then walked into the living room and sat on the couch and looked at the Christmas tree.

"It's so pretty." Asada said.

"Yeah." Eric agreed. Eric's mom and dad walked into the living room.

"Eric you know the drill, you and you friend open ya'lls gifts then you need to go see the rest of the family and wish them a merry Christmas and everything." Eric's dad said.

"Yup I remember." Eric said. Eric's mom and dad handed Eric and Asada a few gift boxes. Eric opened his and he got; an anime funko-pop, a new sketch pad that had a cool character design layout, and a cool, sleek black and orange flip knife. "Whoa." Eric said as he stood up and twirled the knife around a little. Asada opened hers and got; a green and black sweater, a mp3 player, and a cool, sleek black and purple flip knife.

"Nice." Asada said as she looked the knife over. Asada put the sweater on as Eric's dad handed Eric one last box.

"That came in the mail yesterday, there was a note saying not to give it to you until today." Eric's dad said. Eric tilted his head to the side. Eric opened it and there was another box inside and a note.

" 'Hello Eric and Asada, I wish ya'll a merry Christmas. Hope you like it – Kirito and Asuna'." Eric read the note aloud. Eric opened the little box and pulled out two necklaces, separate they were each a part of a heart, but you could connect them to form a full heart. And there was engraving on both but you couldn't read it until you combined it.

"What does it say?" Asada asked as Eric connected the two heart pieces.

"It says Eric + Asada." Eric replied as he read it.

"Aww Asuna and Kirito are so sweet." Asada said. Eric smirked.

"I should've guessed Kirito would do something like this." Eric said as he handed Asada the left piece. Eric and Asada put the necklaces on. "Thanks for the gifts Mom and Dad." Eric said.

"No problem." They said.

"Well I guess me and Asada will go ahead and visit the other family members while you two can open what I got you." Eric said.

"Alright." Eric's dad said. Eric put on a red jacket with a white stripe. Eric and Asada left and started walking on a trail through the forest.

"So what did you get them?" Asada asked.

"I got them all 20 seasons of a show they love." Eric replied.

"Whoa." Asada said. Eric just smirked. "So who are we going to see?" Asada asked.

"My grandma, Jimmy, and Jason. And I need to email my other family members who don't live around here." Eric replied.

"Oh ok." Asada said. Asada wrapped her arm around Eric's and walked right next to him. Eric took and deep breath and smiled while looking around the trail.

"When I was a kid I loved running around the woods, I always looked for monsters and just anything that would give me an adventure." Eric said.

"Did you ever find anything?" Asada asked. Eric nodded his head no.

"Look, we're here." Eric said as a log cabin came into view. Eric knocked at the door and his grandma opened the door.

"Hello." Eric's grandma greeted them.

"Hi grandma, may we come in?" Eric asked.

"Of course." Eric's grandma replied as she let Eric and Asada in. Jimmy was sitting in a chair watching Walker Texas Ranger.

"Hi Uncle." Eric said.

"Hello Mr. E, I see you've brought your friend with you." Jimmy said.

"Yes, oh right grandma this is Asada, and Asada that's my grandma." Eric said.

"Nice to meet you." Asada said.

"Nice to meet you too." Eric's grandma said.

"We just came to say Merry Christmas." Eric said.

"Well thank you. Merry Christmas to the both of you." Jimmy said.

"I'm gonna go chat with Jason real quick." Eric said as he started heading up a small flight of stairs.

"I'll be down here waiting for you." Asada called up after Eric. After a few minutes Eric walked downstairs to find Asada asleep on the couch. Eric gently picked Asada up and carried her back towards his parents house. Later that night Asada woke up and looked around Eric's room.

"Have a nice sleep?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Asada replied groggily.

"You must have been exhausted." Eric said.

"I was, oh wait I need to give you your gift." Asada said as she grabbed a huge box and gave it to Eric. Eric opened it and his eye's widened.

"N-No way." Eric said as he stood up. Eric pulled out a life-size replicate of his demon blood sword.

"I knew you liked that sword since you always use it." Asada said. Eric went over and hugged her.

"Of course I like it, it was the sword you helped me get." Eric said. Eric stepped back. "You know it's funny you choose to get me my main sword. Cause in a way I did the same thing of getting a main weapon." Eric said. Asada looked confused. "You beat me in size but." Eric said as he handed her a box. She opened and found a decent size replicate of her PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate 2.

"My Hecate." Asada said as she looked it over. "It's just like it." Asada said.

"Funny we had similar ideas." Eric said.

"I love it." Asada said.

"I'm glad." Eric said. "Merry Christmas." Eric said.

"Merry Christmas." Asada said.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Merry Christmas p2

[Merry Christmas everyone, or happy whatever it is you may celebrate. This Is 2 of 2 Christmas chapters that I hope will be posted on Christmas. But if I post this late or you're reading after the holidays than I still hope you had a good time. Link Start!]

'Dang it's really freezing.' Kirito thought as he woke up. Kirito walked into his living room and cut the heater on. "Hey Cody." Kirito said as he petted Cody. Kirito's phone started ringing. "Yeah?" Kirito asked as he answered the phone.

"Hey." Hunter said.

"What's up Hunter?" Kirito asked.

"What time is everyone gathering at your house for Christmas?" Hunter asked.

"About 2:00." Kirito answered.

"Alright man, see you then." Hunter said.

"Alright." Kirito said as he hung up.

"Kirigaya?" Leafa asked as she stepped out of her room.

"Oh yeah, sorry did I wake you?" Kirito asked.

"No, I was already up when I thought I heard your voice." Leafa replied.

"I was just telling Hunter what time to come over for Christmas." Kirito said. Leafa stepped over and petted Cody before sitting on the couch.

"It sure is cold." Leafa said.

"Yeah." Kirito agreed. Meanwhile Hunter walked into Silica's room.

"Hey, wake up, I made breakfast." Hunter said.

"Really?" Silica asked with a yawn.

"yup, eggs and bacon." Hunter replied.

"Wow." Silica said as she got up and followed Hunter to the kitchen. "It looks awesome." Silica said.

"I'm glad, I just hope it tastes good." Hunter said.

"I'm sure it will." Silica said as she sat down. Hunter and Silica enjoyed their breakfast and went outside for a walk. "So what did you get me for a present?" Silica asked.

"Oh you'll see when we do Christmas at Kirito's." Hunter replied.

"No fun." Silica said as she pouted. Hunter chuckled.

"I mean I will tell you if you want, but surprises are fun sometimes." Hunter said.

"It's fine I can wait until later." Silica said. Hunter and Silica finished their walk and went back inside where Silica started watching TV while Hunter worked on some animation. After a few hours Hunter walked up to Silica.

"Klein's going to pick up Lisbeth and Agil then he's coming to get us to go to Kirito's." Hunter said.

"Ok." Silica said. Klein arrived shortly after that and drove them to Kirito's house. Hunter knocked on the door.

"Hey." Kirito said as he opened the door.

"We're here." Hunter said.

"Good, come on in." Kirito said. Everyone stepped inside. Silica and Lisbeth sat next to Leafa and Asuna on the couch while Klein, Agil, and Hunter joined Kirito in the kitchen. "So how are you guys?" Kirito asked.

"I'm fine, just tired from working at the bar." Agil replied.

"I have the holidays off so I'm pretty relaxed." Klein replied.

"Staying with Silica has been pretty fun, and I've gotten a lot of work done on projects." Hunter answered. 'Oh no I hope Kirito doesn't target me now that Eric isn't here for now.' Hunter thought.

"So you and Silica getting close huh?" Kirito asked with a smirk.

'Great…' Hunter thought with a sigh. "Really? Yes we are together and you can't fluster me with that Kirito. It may effect Eric but I am immune." Hunter stated proudly.

"How many times have ya'll kissed?" Kirito asked. Hunter turned the shade of an apple. "I thought you said I couldn't fluster you with that." Kirito said with a grin.

"W-What makes you think I'm flustered?" Hunter asked as calmly as he could.

"Bruh even I could tell that your face changed shades." Agil said.

"No fair everyone but me has their soulmate." Klein said sadly.

"Man what you talking about? I haven't found mine, neither has Lisbeth or Leafa." Agil said.

"You'll find someone one day." Hunter said comforting Klein.

"Boys can we start opening gifts yet?" Asuna asked.

"Sure." Kirito said as the boys walked into the living room. They all grabbed presents with their names on it. Silica opened what Hunter had got her, it was a stuffed animal version of Pina.

"OMG, thank you Hunter." Silica said as she hugged him.

"I thought you'd like that." Hunter said with a smile. Hunter opened what she got him, it was a book with 100+ animation rig tips and tricks. "Whoa." Hunter said as his jaw dropped.

"I remember you working on that stuff so." Silica said.

"Here." Kirito said as he handed a box to Asuna. Asuna opened it, inside was a necklace that had a gem that looked like the Yui's gem in SAO.

"It's so… pretty." Asuna said with a warm smile.

"I'm glad you like it." Kirito said as Asuna hugged him. Everyone enjoyed opening gifts and as it got late people left.

"It was fun, bye Kirito." Hunter said.

"Bye." Kirito said as he shut the door. Kirito and Asuna cuddled on the couch together.

"Do you think Eric and Asada got our gift?" Asuna asked.

"I think I sent it out on time so yeah." Kirito replied.

"I wanna see how it looks on them." Asuna said.

"Same, although even if we didn't include a note I think Eric would have figured out who sent it." Kirito said with a grin.

"Yeah you do mess with him so much, oh didn't you say Eric left a bag for you to open on Christmas?" Asada asked.

"I totally forgot about that." Kirito answered as he sat up. Kirito went to his room and grabbed the bag and came back and sat next to Asuna. Kirito pulled out three boxes, 1 said Kirito, another said Asuna, and the last said Cody.

"Gifts?" Asuna asked as she looked at the box.

"Looks like it." Kirito said.

"Which one do we open first?" Asuna asked.

"Let's do Cody's first." Kirito replied as he opened the box. Inside was a set of reindeer antlers for a dog, and a new orange and black collar with a blue tag engraved with 'Cody'.

"That collar looks nice." Asuna said. Kirito called Cody over.

"Since Eric did put it in the box I'm sure he'll be ok with me putting it on Cody." Kirito said.

"I figured he did mean for you to do it." Asuna agreed. Kirito took off Cody's old collar and slid the new one on, it fit perfectly. "You should take a picture of Cody with the collar and antlers." Asuna said as she put the antlers on Cody.

"Right, I'll send it to him, but since it's so late he might not see it till morning." Kirito said as he took a picture of Cody and texted it Eric.

"Now I wanna open mine." Asuna said as she grabbed her box. Asuna opened it and inside was a game code for ALO.

"What does that code do?" Kirito asked as Asuna read the note that came with it.

"It gives me a new version of my old rapier from Aincrad." Asuna replied.

"Whoa." Kirito said as he picked up his box. Kirito opened it and pulled out a coat that looked similar to his coat from Aincrad.

"That looks just like it." Asuna said in amazement as Kirito put it on.

"And it's quite comfy." Kirito pointed out. Kirito sat down and noticed Asuna was staring at him. "Something wrong?" Kirito asked.

"No, it's just with that coat you look just like you did when we were trapped in SAO, and it reminds me of the time I started falling for you." Asuna replied. Asuna leaned in and kissed Kirito. Asuna pulled back and giggled when she noticed Kirito was red. "Even after all we been through together you still turn so red." Asuna said with a giggle.

"I'm just glad Eric isn't here to see or he'd turn the tables on me." Kirito said as he closed his eyes and sighed. Kirito's eyes shot open when he heard the shutter of a camera. "Don't tell me you took a picture." Kirito said.

"Relax, I won't show Eric." Asuna said with a smirk.

"Don't show it to Asada either, cause then she'd tell Eric." Kirito said.

"Well maybe I should, you mess with him a lot after all." Asuna said.

"You are having fun aren't you?" Kirito asked with a sigh.

"Yup." Asuna said with a laugh.

"It's getting kinda cold and it's really dark outside, wanna spend the night and come sleep with me?" Kirito asked.

"Sure." Asuna replied as her and Kirito walked to his room. Kirito cut the heater on and climbed into bed with Asuna.

"So the 4th B.O.B is coming up, you going to join GGO and enter?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know, are you?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah, I know both Asada and Eric are entering." Kirito replied.

"And you want to fight him don't you?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah." Kirito answered.

"I might join, but we can talk about B.O.B later." Asuna said as she snuggled close to Kirito.

"Merry Christmas." Kirito said.

"Merry Christmas." Asuna said.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Heading back

[Hey everyone, sorry for the long break in chapters, I've had to readjust to school again and was just not feeling like writing as much. But I've been doing a few creative projects lately and I figured it was about time I got back to posting, now this will probably be the last romantic-ish chapter for a bit since the next chapter or so will be based on the next B.O.B. and it will be a while before the next chapter since I will condense the B.O.B into one or two big chapters, there will be some cute moments, but the romance will pick up again for February around Valentine's day. Link Start!]

Asada was running down a dark hallway. She was chasing after Eric who was being dragged away by Dulk. "Eric!" Asada screamed as she ran as fast as she could. She was freezing cold and was so tired she couldn't run very fast. Dulk and Eric always seemed several feet ahead of her. Asada screamed and screamed while going as fast as she could. But it was no use. Suddenly Asada felt herself warm up and the hallway lit up with light. Eric broke free of Dulk's hold, Eric landed one solid blow and Dulk just vanished. "Eric!" Asada yelled as she ran towards him.

"Asada… no matter what I'll always be next to you. Even if I have to defeat another evil group to do it." Eric said as he vanished. Asada looked around and suddenly the hallway disappeared and she was left in nothing but blank. Asada woke up gasping for air. "It's ok, you were just having a nightmare." Eric said in a comforting voice as he hugged Asada.

"Eric…" Asada said as she gripped him tight. "What time is it?" Asada asked as she loosened her grip slightly, but still held on to him.

"6:50 in the morning." Eric replied. "You should try to go back to sleep." Eric suggested. Asada shook her head no. "Wanna talk about it?" Eric asked.

"Not really." Asada said.

"Ok, well we have a flight to catch today so we both need our rest." Eric said as he laid back down and pulled Asada to his side, she buried her head against his chest. "If you need me just wake me up." Eric said.

"Ok." Asada said as she felt herself becoming tired again. Before she knew it she was waking up in the morning. Asada saw that Eric was still asleep. 'I best let him sleep.' Asada thought as she went to move, but she quickly realized she had her arms locked around Eric and he had his arms locked around her. Asada just smiled as she looked at him. Eric started to wake up.

"Good morning." Eric mumbled as he opened his eyes and saw Asada.

"Good morning." Asada said. "Sorry I woke you up, I just went to go move and I guess I shook you." Asada said.

"It's fine." Eric said with a yawn. Eric's phone started ringing, Eric sighed. Asada rolled over and grabbed his phone and handed it to him. "Yello?" Eric asked as he answered.

"Hey man, you just getting up?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied as he sat up. Asada got up and left the room.

"Well sorry to catch you are just getting up I just wanted to ask when is your flight?" Kirito asked.

"Um we leave at 2:00pm so we should be there roughly 1:00am." Eric replied.

"Dang, well I'll drop Cody off at your house tomorrow after noon then for you." Kirito said.

"Thanks." Eric said.

"No problem, I'll let you go." Kirito said.

"Alright bye." Eric said before hanging up. Eric got up and stretched.

"Breakfast is ready." Asada said as she poked her head into the room.

"Got it." Eric said as he made his way to the kitchen. Asada had heated up some instant noodle cups. After a few minutes they both finished eating. "So if we leave now we can go to a few stores on the way to the airport if you want." Eric said.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Asada said. Eric and Asada said their farewells to Eric's parents, his uncles, and his grandma then they headed off towards town. Eric and Asada walked into a huge anime/game merch store. Asada laughed at how Eric could geek out over all the anime action figures.

"Yo the details on that Vegito." Eric said. "That Ichigo bankai figure has incredible accuracy even with the chains on the sword." Eric said flipping out at all the toys.

"Are you a teenager or a little boy?" Asada asked with a laugh.

"Both." Eric replied as he looked at more figures.

"Well I'm gonna go look at the games, find me when you finish here." Asada said.

"Ok." Eric replied. After looking around for a bit both of them headed to the airport and boarded their flight.

"Are you gonna pass out almost straight away?" Asada asked.

"Nah, I wanna do some work." Eric said as he took out his game character sketchpad. Eric stayed up most of the flight working while talking to Asada, but after a while they both fell asleep. Once they landed they grabbed their bags and hailed a cab and headed to the house. They both passed out shortly after getting home. It was the afternoon when Asada woke up. She wandered the house till she found Eric giving Cody a bath.

"Hey." Asada said.

"Hey." Eric said as he washed his hands and told Cody to sit. "I've got to let the suds sit on him for a bit before I finish his bath.

"Ok, want me to start unpacking?" Asada asked.

"Nah I already did it." Eric replied.

'He must have been up for a bit then.' Asada thought. She noticed Eric looked extremely tired. "How much sleep did you get?" Asada asked.

"Not much." Eric replied with a chuckle.

"Let me finish washing Cody, you should take it easy." Asada said.

"It's fine, I can function fine without lots of sleep." Eric stated.

"Still, I wanna do something since you went and unpacked everything." Asada said.

"Ok." Eric said.

"Go take it easy." Asada said.

"I'll probably log into ALO." Eric said.

"Do that." Asada said. Eric went into his room and laid on his bed with his Amusphere, he logged into ALO.

"Hey." Hunter said.

"Hunter." Eric said as he turned to face him.

"I just logged on." Hunter said.

"Same." Eric said. Eric thought for a minute then decided to speak up. "Instead of waiting want to battle right here right now?" Eric asked.

"I do, but I can tell you have jetlag. So if we battle it won't count as our real battle." Hunter said.

"Ok then let's think of this as a practice run to see how much we need to improve." Eric said.

"Agreed." Hunter said as him and Eric activated their wings and flew off to a good area to battle.

"Shall we begin the practice battle?" Eric asked as he clutched his Demon blood and Cardinal Rage swords in his hands.

"Yeah." Hunter replied as he gripped a single gold katana.

"Then let the battle and smack talk begin." Eric said as he charged at Hunter.

"Can't wait." Hunter said with a smirk as he ran at Eric.

"This won't be a battle, it'll be a kill-fest." Eric said as he moved behind Hunter. Eric got the first hit by slashing Hunter's back. Hunter moved forward and spun around quickly. Eric dragged his sword along the ground and slashed it upwards towards Hunter, Hunter blocked it. But with the force Eric put into the slash it sent Hunter's katana into the air, Eric jumped into the air and kicked Hunter back.

"I hope you don't get over cocky just cause you got a few hits in." Hunter said.

"Ah man you know it's already gone to my head." Eric said as he started walking towards Hunter. Hunter ran at Eric and started trying to punch and kick him. Eric was dodging with ease. Eric yawned and lost focus for a second allowing Hunter to land a barrage of punches. Eric swiftly regained his focus and was able to knock Hunter back with a knee thrust.

"You sure you can fight with that jetlag of yours?" Hunter asked as he threw a punch at Eric. Eric dodged with ease .

"Yeah man, I'm just getting started." Eric said as he backed up. Hunter grabbed his katana. Eric mumbled a spell and gained a mask like the one he had when he fought Faiadrodo.

"You do love anime references don't you?" Hunter asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah." Eric said now using a deep tone.

"But turning into the skull reaper would have given you a better advantage!" Hunter yelled as he rushed at Eric. Eric ran at Hunter then suddenly started disappearing and reappearing all around Hunter. It started happening so much Hunter could count at least 5 Eric's at all times while disappearing and reappearing. "What! There's no way you can move that fast!" Hunter yelled.

"Oh yeah?" Eric asked as he appeared in front of Hunter and landed a solid blow to the chest. Hunter went to go counter but Eric disappeared from in front of him and went back to appearing and disappearing everywhere around him.

"Oh I get it you really are doing that Ichigo crap, the mask and the moving all around. Although that still doesn't explain how you're moving all over the place so quick." Hunter said. Eric appeared behind Hunter and thrusted both of his swords through Hunter's back.

"Who said I was moving really fast?" Eric asked as he kicked Hunter and ripped his blades out.

"That's it!" Hunter shouted as he understood what was happening. "When you did that spell I thought It was to put on that mask and change your voice, but in fact it created illusions of you so the real you can get some sneak attacks." Hunter deducted.

"Smart, however still to late." Eric said as he reappeared to the side of Hunter. Eric slammed the hilt of his demon blood sword against Hunter's head, Eric quickly slashed Hunter with his cardinal's rage sword. Hunter's hp dropped into the red as he fell to the ground. Eric backed up and laughed. "Just surrender so I don't have to waste a revive on you." Eric said.

"I will not give up!" Hunter yelled as he jumped up and ran at Eric.

"This is why I love our battles, no matter what we keep fighting till someone dies." Eric said as he blocked Hunter's katana. Hunter used his katana to force Eric's blades up, Hunter used all his power and jumped off the ground and did a full on tackle. Eric fell to the ground and quickly rolled away and mumbled something before hopping up.

"DIE!" Hunter yelled as he thrusted his katana into Eric's chest. Eric stumbled back.

'Damn he was fast about getting over here to attack me.' Eric thought as he put up his cardinal's rage sword. Eric gripped his demon blood sword with both hands.

"Let's put everything into this last attack since we both have low HP." Hunter said.

"Agreed." Eric said. They charged at each other.

'His jetlag must finally be catching up to him.' Hunter thought as Eric slowed and got wobbly. Hunter was able to dodge Eric's attack and turned around and stabbed Eric in the back dropping his HP to 0, he burst into triangles. "I beat him, but where's his soul orb so I can revive him?" Hunter asked as he looked around. Suddenly Hunter felt a shooting pain in his chest, his HP dropped to 0.

"Being a Spriggan means I got some illusion spells; some people think that would be useless in battle. However anything can be useful if you know how to use it." Eric said as he appeared behind Hunter.

"When you was rolling away you did a spell didn't you?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied as Hunter burst into triangles. Eric revived Hunter.

"Seems like I need to be careful of those spells in our real battle." Hunter said.

"Yeah." Eric said. "Well I'm logging off for now." Eric said.

"Ok, bye." Hunter said.

"Bye." Eric said as he logged off. Eric laid in his bed. 'dang I'm really tired. The fourth bullet of bullets is coming up.' Eric thought.

"How was ALO?" Asada asked from the doorway.

"It was good, I'm really tired now though." Eric replied.

"Yeah, tomorrow shall we practice in GGO for a bit to get ready for the B.O.B?" Asada asked.

"Yeah." Eric replied.

"Cool." Asada said. Eric and Asada cleaned the house a little bit and relaxed until night came.

"Well I'm really tired so I think I'll head to bed." Eric said.

"Yeah I'll head to bed shortly myself, good night." Asada said.

"Good night." Eric said as he went to his room. Eric laid on his bed but just couldn't sleep. 'I'm mega tired, but why can't I sleep? Something just feels off.' Eric thought. Eric laid there for serval minutes till Asada knocked on his door.

"You awake?" Asada asked in a whisper.

"Yeah." Eric replied as he got up and opened the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you but.." Asada trialed off.

"but?" Eric asked.

"After being on that trip and everything I've kinda gotten used to someone next to me when I sleep." Asada replied.

"You want to come sleep next to me?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Asada replied.

"Ok, just grab your cover so we each have one." Eric said as he went back to bed. Asada went and grabbed her cover and a pillow and came and laid next to Eric.

"Good night." Asada said.

"Good night." Eric said as they laid back to back. Eric yawned. 'Now I'm starting to pass out… I think I've gotten used to having her next to me.' Eric thought as he fell asleep.


End file.
